


Different Circumstances

by ofdogsandwriting



Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: Family Dynamics, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but i don't want to clutter those character tags since they're more minor, domestic AU, genderfluid tribore, i tried to make everyone have an appearance at some point, implied trans gary, mostly - Freeform, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22722754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofdogsandwriting/pseuds/ofdogsandwriting
Summary: Avocato had managed to escape the Lord Commander with his son and hide away in a place where he hoped they could never be found. He just wanted a normal, safe life on earth for his son, but after he meets a certain blond human with the charm of an elephant, he wonders to himself, maybe, just maybe… a little excitement was okay. Right?
Relationships: Avocato & Little Cato (Final Space), Avocato/Gary Goodspeed, Gary Goodspeed & Little Cato
Comments: 153
Kudos: 271





	1. Customer #10

**Author's Note:**

> So I spent the last while writing this work of fiction. I have this thing where I don't upload stuff unless it's complete, so all of the chapters will be posted over time, I'm thinking bi-weekly?
> 
> I never thought I would be posting a Final Space fic on my account (or have like 6 other ideas in mind for FS fics), but after I saw season 2 and all that absolute suffering™ I finally decided that Little Cato and his two dads deserved to be happy even if it's in an au lol. Really, I don't know what came over me, I just wrote this and couldn't stop. This is one of the few works I've completed without it being a part of a challenge or a gift, and the word count rivals my other largest piece of work, which also had a deadline.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy it c:

The aroma of coffee filled the air and the soft sounds of people mulling about sung in his ears. Patrons talked about mundane aspects of life alongside the cups of hot drinks they held. Abstract pictures hung on every wall, accompanied by a widespread window that stretched across the entire front of the shop. The sun shone brightly through, providing most of the light for the little cafe.

Outside, cars passed by, and people ambled along the street, chatting on devices, walking alongside friends and animals.

Sometimes, Avocato loathed his job, but other days such as this, he appreciated the small details of everything, like the sweet aroma of pastries lingering under the scent of coffee. It all felt so normal, like what life was supposed to be.

Despite being a Ventrexian on a planet filled with humans, it was not so bad. Well, cat jokes from every tenth customer aside.

“Hey, Avocato, you’ve got that latte order ready?”

With ease, Avocato formed the frothy substance atop the hot drink into a leaf before he handed it over to his coworker of caramel skin and bright eyes of amber. “As requested. Extra sugar, french vanilla,” he stated matter-of-factly and she rolled her eyes.

“Do you always have to be so professional? This is a coffee shop, not the military,” she teased.

“Coffee is a serious matter, it shouldn’t be taken lightly when the life of someone’s morning is in our hands.” Avocato couldn’t help the smirk that quirked upwards, and she laughed.

“Right, keep up the good work then. I bet the boss’ll give you another raise soon. Hopefully it’d help you and Jr. out.” He could sense the underlying concern underneath the bright smile. 

“My son and I have been doing fine lately,” he assured her. 

She had been the one to witness him a couple years ago, desperate to find a job, any job that would help him stabilize his life and provide for his son. With the universe against him, everything had felt hopeless. He had been on the run from his past, from the Lord Commander, escaped to a place no one thought to truly look or care, on an overpopulated planet in the middle of a huge city where no one would recognize him.

He had been worried that his endeavours were fruitless, unable to find a true place to belong on earth, until he had found a place here. His now-coworker recommended him to the manager, and he was hired the next day.

Sure, it was just a coffee shop, but it was normal, mundane, nothing out of the ordinary. It was a quiet place to work, aside from the occasional customer that criticized every small detail and speck of dust. It was far from anything he had to worry about in his previous life.

The perks of working here were too tempting to search anywhere else anyways. Avocato could have ten Monday-sized cups of coffee for free with the effects of jittery fingers and mussed fur, and no one could say shit so long as he was working.

Was that single perk worth it? Of course it was, this was coffee he was thinking about here.

His coworker looked at him as though she had a hard time believing him, because Avocato realized he had gone silent for a suspicious amount of time. “Really, Little Cato and I are fine,” he assured her again. “We have a home and food, it’s all we need. We’re happy now.” He leaned against the counter after she handed the latte away to a customer, all patrons now satisfied and sitting at their respective tables. “But,” he stretched out the syllable, “I wouldn’t complain if I got more money,” he added with a smirk.

She winked at him with pointed fingers, “there it is! I knew there was a catch with you.”

The door swung open then, bell jingling to signify the entrance of a new customer.

Blond hair, with a bit of an undercut, messy at the top, he looked like any other flesh bag of a human that entered the building. Yet, the way he walked was with a confidence he had never seen before. A swagger that would make most think ‘why the hell is he walking like that’ Avocato’s thoughts included.

The man waved to another customer, and received a glare. Avocato’s ears picked up on him muttering a “sheesh, talk about anti-social.”

He turned to face him as he approached the front counter, and immediately, bright blue eyes gave way to curiosity, staring up to his ears and peering over to the tail that flicked with annoyance behind the counter. Avocato’s heart sank, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

“Wow, I’ve been gone so long the cats of earth have evolved! You guys aren’t planning on some kind of uprising, right? I mean, working at a coffee shop, yikes. I just want to let you know, I’m on your side when the revolution happens, buddy.”

Yes, a customer ten, his favorite.

“I’m not a cat,” he said behind the bared teeth of a smile, cutting him off with a politeness he was surprised he had, reminding himself to be kind to customers despite the comments of his appearance. “I’m Ventrexian. How may I help you?”

“Oh, yeah!” His eyes flicked up to the menu, an audible hum that extended for far longer than necessary escaped him, hand raised to rub the non-existent beard on his chin. 

A line began to form behind him.

Avocato was on the verge of a hiss or groan of frustration.

“So,” he started with a whistle, looking back down to him, ignoring the menu as he leaned over the counter, elbows resting on the surface and chin in his hands, “how’s your day going?”

Avocato blinked, taken off guard. “What?”

“You know, I figured people don’t ask you much, but we can talk about it. Any crushes, break-ups, winning the lottery? Maybe you saw something cool on the way to work, tell me about it.”

“It  _ was _ going good. And your’s?”

“Good, that’s good! You’re just not gonna say anything else, okay.” Thankfully, he pressed no further. “My day’s great! Amazing, actually! I just got out of prison last week! Well, it was sort of like prison, more like a punishment for a crime I did, but also definitely a prison.”

“Prison?!” Avocato choked out in disbelief. Who shares that they’ve just gotten out of prison to a complete stranger? This guy is crazy.

“Oh yeah, it’s a long story.” He chuckled as though they were friends sharing an inside joke. “I can tell you all about it. You see, there’s this woman I’m madly in love with, who totally has the hots for me-"

Oh fuck no, he did not want to hear anything this 'nice guy' was about to say.

His coworker offered him a sympathetic smile and opened a second till to serve the flood of customers as the man continued to talk. Why was he talking to him? What did Avocato do to deserve this?

He did not need an answer for that.

He was still talking, and he had no idea how to respond because he had gotten lost in the really long story that he was oversharing, and now he felt guilty and annoyed.

“I’ve met up with her again recently, turns out she forgot who I was, but then she remembered, and now she’s still really mad about it- the whole blowing up the ships thing, and that restaurant. God, I feel so guilty about the restaurant. Family owned, too. But anyways, her name’s Quinn, she’s beautiful, great, strong personality. I get the honors of hanging out with her this Wednesday, not as a boyfriend though, not yet.”

Sweet blissful silence filled the air between them, save for the sounds of coffee machines and murmuring patrons.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” He spoke again.

_ You talk too much _ , he wanted to say irritably. “Sir, I’m just trying to do my job,” he states with all the stoicness he could muster.

The human leaned over the counter further, getting closer to him. “I want to unlock your past, tell me about it.”

“No.”

“Did you fail college?”

“No.”

“Oh, then why are you here?”

“No, I mean, no, I’m not telling you anything.”

“So you did fail, I’m so sorry, dude.”

“I can still pass college and enjoy working here,” he said defensively. Not that he loved his job or anything, he was just here for the money and coffee. He would prefer to be at home, especially right now.

“True.” The man hit his chest with a fist and offered a peace sign. “You have all my respect.”

"Right," he cocked a brow at him, "are you going to get anything?"

Blissfully unaware, or outright ignoring him, he got comfortable on the counter. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” his eyes drifted downwards to the nametag on his chest, “Avocato!” He laughed, “oh my god, I love that! Do you even know the kind of pun your name has? It’s like a cat, and an avocado, that’s amazing! Get it?”

“No, what’s an avocado, is that a human name?”

“No, it’s like a fruit- or is it a vegetable? It’s green and it tastes bad.”

“Do  _ you _ even know what an avocado is?” He shot back, amusement rising in him at the teasing remark he could make.

He laughed again. “Oh, oh that’s good! My name’s Gary, by the way, feel free to make fun of my name too, it’s only fair.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, go right ahead, I promise I won’t tell the manager.” He held out a pinky with one hand.  “Go on, shake it, it’ll be a promise sealed by the pact of the pinky finger.”

Now this, this elicited a positive emotion, made him think that maybe this guy was not the worst possible customer he has had before. “Fine,” Avocato smirked, bringing forth his own pinky to seal the deal. Whatever Avocato had done, Gary’s smile broadened tenfold, as though he had unwittingly fallen into his plan.

“Gary sounds like a name you’d give a fish or a snail. Only a human fleshbag could have a name as lame as that.”

“Oof, low blow, buddy. Low blow.”

This exchange changed nothing though. Gary still ruined his perfectly content day, and worst of all, Avocato could not stop thinking about him. Even after he finally ordered a basic black coffee (why just a black coffee?), even after he left, even for the rest of his shift, and even as he drove home.

He climbed up the four sets of stairs to his apartment. It was an ancient building, one he could afford on the tight budget he lived on as a single father. No, no lavish elevators, or moving platforms, or teleporters like in modern buildings. Just some lame stairs.

Four flights after work. Every day.

Years ago, he had his own house, he had people he could order around whenever he wanted. If he so much as wanted someone to lick his shoes clean, it would happen. It was always spotless, and his son could run around freely in the home and eat the rarest foods the universe had to offer.

As it turned out, he never owned the damn place to begin with anyway.

He preferred this, he assured himself, a quaint apartment in an overpopulated city. At least he owned it- well- rented it.

He unlocked the door to his place, stepped inside, and gently shut it behind him, letting out a heavy sigh as he shook the weight of the day off his shoulders. He stared down at the handle of the door, the sounds of music and mashing buttons in a rhythmic tune filling his ears.

A smile graced his lips, turning towards the living room. He saw the faint flashing of lights against the wall next to the couch, and what was left of the sunlight filtering through the window near the television, purple and grey as the clouded sky transitioned to night.

In the end, coming home to his son made everything worth it. No matter what, he did not regret the decision he made three years ago.

He flicked on the light. “What’d I tell you about playing games in the dark?”

A soft hiss. The music faded, and the mashing of buttons ceased.

“Hey, dad!” Little Cato jumped up from his seat and onto the back of the couch, pretending as though he had not just been caught doing something he was not supposed to do. He was precariously balanced as he stood. “There’s some light coming from the window. I’m just saving on energy.” Little Cato knew that Avocato knew that what he just said was a total excuse, because he believed that video games looked cooler in the dark. “How’d work go today?”

“Don’t stand on the couch like that, you’ll fall,” he warned, ambling into the kitchen. The couch and the tile flooring was the only thing separating the two rooms from each other. When he got a stick of the tongue in response, he gently pushed his son on the chest as he passed him. He fell back onto the couch from the slight change of weight, flopping down on his back. “It went fine,” he continued and approached the sink, looking to the pile of dishes stacked inside. “How was school?”

Little Cato’s head poked up from the couch again, watching him from the living room. 

“It doesn’t sound fine. That’s your annoyed voice.” Lil Cato stated, getting up on the back of the couch again. This time he sat on it, legs dangling off.

“I am not annoyed,” he said, annoyed.

“No, see, you’re doing it. It’s that weird voice. And your tail does that thing when you’re totally annoyed and lying about it.” Avocato became acutely aware of his tail twitching back and forth. How long had he been doing that for?

“Son, my boy, my reason of life, will you be quiet? I’m busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Making you dinner.” He reached for pots and pans then, grabbing utensils from various drawers. Avocato was lucky that he usually got off a couple hours after Little Cato had school, it was just in time for him to make supper.

Little Cato grew quiet at the response and continued his game, and finally, Avocato answered. “It was just a customer that messed up my day, no biggy, really,” he shrugged for emphasis, despite the continued twitching of his tail.

Entirely unconvinced, Little Cato gave him that look, the untrustworthy Cato look, and settled back down into the couch.

Avocato finished making dinner. They sat down and ate at the table, Little Cato taking the opportunity to prattle on about the day he had at school, Avocato eagerly asking about the current gossip and rumours spreading around the place like wildfire, because some of those stories were absolutely wild.

After dinner, they sat down in the living room and turned on a movie. He was more engrossed in it than Little Cato, who frequently checked his device for texts from Ash and Fox.

After the movie, they moved on to play a video game for awhile before he noticed the time and told his son to go to bed.

Unfortunately for Avocato, he sometimes had trouble sleeping. He would wake up on the odd occasion, like tonight, settle down on the couch in the living room, and just sit.

He would lament.

Avocato tried to forget his past instead of thinking about it, of the mistakes he made, but sometimes the luxury of forgetting never came easy.

Tonight was the first night his son caught him. Two years, a good record. He came out of his room, yawning loudly, walking to the fridge to grab a can of pop. Avocato said nothing, but he moved his head to watch him.

Little Cato nearly dropped the can when he noticed him, tail fluffing up in surprise, no doubt the light of the refrigerator illuminated his face over the couch.

He must look scary as hell.

“Oh, hey, dad, uh-”

“Nice try, put it back.”

Little Cato put the can of pop back, grumbling to himself. He approached the couch after, moving to stand in front of it. “If I’m supposed to be in bed, then you’re supposed to be in bed. Why are we both out here?”

“You should go back to bed,” he answered simply, softly, masking his troubled mind behind a small smile.

He was not buying it.

He liked to think that he could read his son like an open book when it came to emotions. Unfortunately for him, it went both ways.

“You’re thinking about- everything, right?” Little Cato gestured with a frown. It was a subje ct they both shared, both equally suffered through. His son was more willing to talk about it than him, but he never wanted to tell him about everything, to bring up what needed to be put behind them.

He just wished Little Cato could forget about their past and move on. Be a normal kid. He deserved to be happy.

“Dad?” His voice was soft, and Avocato met his gaze. He sat down next to him. “You know, you can always talk to me about it. I know some of the stuff you did, I can handle it. I’m not a kid anymore.”

Avocato levelled him with a look. “Yes, you are.” He reached out then and ruffled his bed-head hair. He pouted in protest. “Besides, you’re not my therapist, you’re my son.”

He could tell that Little Cato wanted to argue, but his form slouched against the couch in defeat, too tired to put up a fight, and deflected the conversation somewhere else. “So, that customer?”

To be fair with his son, he decided to share his story of the legendary Gary. “This guy came in, called me a cat, held up the line for an hour, and would not stop talking. I already know more about him than anyone else I’ve ever met on earth before. It’s a miracle he didn’t get kicked out. He even insulted my name,” Avocato shook his head. “What an asshole.”

“Wow,” Little Cato blinked, surprised that a customer like that could even exist.

“At least he let me insult his name. Gary, what a weird name.”

“Really?” He bore the same expression of surprise Avocato felt earlier that day at the open opportunity of an insult. “Hey,” Little Cato shrugged after, “it’s not like he’s a regular. You probably won’t ever have to deal with the guy again. I mean, he probably just stopped by for the day to get coffee, be weird, and move on with his life, right?”

“Right.”


	2. Best Friends

Not right.

Avocato could only wish that the wise words of his sage son were true.

Low and behold, Gary walked in with the same blissful confidence as before, and strolled right up to the counter, glancing to his coworker before approaching him with that stupid, maybe slightly cute, grin of his, picking Avocato over her.

Of course he immediately engaged in lively conversation with him.

He felt trapped, he the prisoner, and Gary, the unknowing captor.

“Gary,” Avocato quietly interrupted his rant about the differences between the word tear and tear in the English language.

“What? What is it, Avocato?” He leaned over the counter, eager to listen to anything he had to say. He was surprised at how attentive he became, like he could say the word ‘apple sauce’ and Gary would be like ‘whoa’.

“I have to go on lunch break. So,” he stretched out the last syllable, “my coworker can help you. Later.” Gary was lucky to get a wave from him before he grabbed a coffee and slipped out from behind the counter. Surprisingly, Gary never followed him as he sat down with his drink at a table next to the window. He would have left, but really, he had nowhere else to go during his break.

Gary talked to his coworker instead for a few minutes. Her musical laughter quickly filled the air, making the coffee shop feel more alive than it had in weeks. He stared down at his coffee, watching the steam slowly rise from the cup. The sunlight was particularly strong today. He could not tell if the lights were on inside the cafe.

“Hey,” Avocato’s face fell. “Lookin’ kinda lonely there, mind if I sit?” Avocato’s ear twitched, looking up to Gary with a dumbfounded expression.

Did he really seem that alone?

“Even if I said no would you still sit down?”

He grinned, “so that’s a yes?” He looked so excited, Avocato found his hard exterior breaking a little.

“Fine.”

Gary sat down across from him in the booth, slapping down a deck of cards. They were ratty and the edges started to curve and wear from overuse, once a sheen white now a pale beige with the occasional coffee stain. They were the ones on display near the counter with other games for recreational use.

“What’s that for?” Avocato eyed the deck of cards suspiciously.

“Entertainment. Come on, let’s play.”

“And what if I say no?” Is this another thing Gary will not accept no for an answer to?

“I’ll be really sad that my bud doesn’t want to play.” He rested his elbows on the table. “Because I thought about spicing up the game a little. Do you like betting?”

Avocato was a little bit of a gambler. When he did play games, he did prefer a wager to them, it added a bit of a thrill to it, plus, he was often good at games like poker and pool. It was all about strategy. He knew how to play any fool when he saw one. Gary is no different.

Besides, Avocato could never say no to a challenge.

“I’ll take you on a bet. If I win, you give me fifty bucks.” He went right for the high numbers, only being a little polite by not betting a hundred.

Gary did not even bat an eye at the loss of fifty dollars, no sputter of surprise, just a response without hesitation. “And if I win, you’ll go to the mall with me next Friday. Do you have that day off? I need a buddy to hang out with.”

Avocato had to stop thinking for a solid minute before he finally spoke again. “Wait, that’s it?”

“Yeah?”

“No waste of money, just time?”

“First of all, no, no waste of money. Secondly, ouch?” He put a hand over his chest and feigned a sad look.

Their game quickly began as they dealt hands. Unlike Avocato’s poker face, Gary was entirely too expressive as he lifted cards and observed his hand. Nodding with a smile, or hissing softly at a hand he did not like.

This was really too easy.

With a flourish, Avocato put his cards on the table. A straight flush, there was no way Gary could beat it. “Take that, baby!” He smirked up at Gary. “I’ll be taking that fifty bucks now.” Just to be cocky, he confidently tipped his cup of coffee back and took a large swing.

Gary dropped his hand on the table with a simple smile that was as blinding as his grins. “Royal flush.”

Avocato spat out his drink of coffee, adding more stains to the cards. “What?! No way!”

“So, about next Friday?”

“How about best two out of three?” How could he lose to Gary? There was no way.

“I mean- okay, but don’t you have to go back to work soon?”

“We can finish it in time.”

And they did. He faced another loss as Gary placed down another royal flush, which had to be in-fucking-possible, but maybe this guy was built with pure luck.

Gary nodded at his hand. “Oh yeah, yeah that’s really good hand you had though! You are pretty good at this game- I’m not surprised, I mean, you seem really smart.” Avocato would think that he was patronizing him in some way, but all he could see was honesty in his smile.

“Right,” he flattened himself against the cushion of the booth, sliding down a little. “So, you want to hang out next Friday? I have that day off,” he admitted, reluctantly.

“Oh, yeah, awesome! We’re gonna look so cool at the mall together, just a couple of bros hanging out and having fun. It’ll be like high school again. I mean, I think, I kinda dropped out.”

He quirked a brow at the sudden lack of confidence Gary expressed, but it was gone as soon as it came.

“Do you have a best friend?” He suddenly asked instead.

“No? What kind of question is that?”

“Oh,” he blinked back, what Avocato could assume, was tears of sympathy, “oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“But you need a best friend! You’ve gotta have a pal you can just hug it out with and do things like eat entire grass pies with because you just feel like it. You can’t have “dudes being bros” without a best friend.”

Entirely too lost in his logic, Avocato could hear the gears in his own mind trying to work out what he was talking about.

Gary suddenly pulled Avocato’s upper body over the table with a surprising speed and strength he never knew a human could possess. He pressed their cheeks flush together, the skin underneath his fur squishing his eye closed from the intensity.

“We’re going to be the bestest,” it was inhumanly possible at how close they felt, “most coolest,” was he going to fuse with this guy, “most amazing friends the galaxy has ever seen.” What the fuck is happening. “Mark my words, Avocato, mark them!”

For the first time in years, Avocato felt terrified for himself.

Gary Goodspeed, the oversharing human, became a regular customer after this.

He saw him every day after their card game without fail.

Avocato told him to come in during his breaks after a few days. Not because he liked Gary’s blinding grins, or how he was odd, but in a good way that could easily make someone smile, or how he could talk about anything and seamlessly include Avocato into the conversation too, or that when he saw him come through the doors, he was filled with a quiet excitement instead of dread. No, not even how he would bring various games to the table and demand to play, or how excited he got when he talked about Quinn.

No, definitely not. It was because he kept holding up the line and upsetting other patrons. Not because he wanted to sit with him and talk in more detail. Nope. He hated the guy.

It felt like only a day had passed before Gary said, “Don’t forget about tomorrow, Brovacato!” He pistoled at him with a wink. “Mall, four o’clock, PM, don’t be late, or be fashionably late, because you’re cool like that. The one downtown that has the awesome candy store, meet me there.” Time felt like it was going faster, he had a hard time believing that Gary had been visiting him for over a week now. 

Gary left the cafe, unaware of the dilemma Avocato had suddenly come to.

That was tomorrow?

Wait, fuck, he promised he would take Little Cato to the mall too. Cancelling on either of them felt like a dick move.

Well, as a responsible father, he only had one choice.

* * *

“Oh, oh, oh,” this repeated a good few times, “dad, can we have dinner at the mall? Please!” Little Cato folded his hands together, ears flattening to the back of his head, looking up at him with big, watery eyes.

Damn, he should have never taught his son to use that face, he was meant to use the power for good, not for evil.

His will quickly weakened. “Fine, we can have dinner at the mall.”

Little Cato jumped into the air, throwing a fist up with a loud “whoop!”

They began their journey, passing various stores, brushing against a few other humans and aliens as they walked. The place was crowded. It was a popular place, one of the biggest malls in the city, maybe the planet.

Complete with floating platforms that had food carts and various trinket stores, the actual levels of the building trailed endlessly above and forward with countless businesses lining every wall. It felt like a maze.

Avocato had to pull out a holographic map from his phone to figure out where he was supposed to meet Gary.

“The candy store,” he mumbled to himself. “Which one?”

“Oh!” Little Cato touched the holographic image of the mall and brought a close up of a peculiar store, “probably this one. It’s the best one in this sector.”

“How do you know that?”

“I have friends that I hang out with here.” He pressed something on the screen and directions were given. “There, now you can find him.”

It was a block forward, a left, a right, and then another left.

“Thanks.” He looked down to Little Cato. “Now, remember, meet me in the food court when you’re done, and more importantly, if anything happens, anything at all. I want you to call me. Immediately.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine, dad.” He smiled something sly, and added, “besides, I’m coming with you tonight.”

“You are?”

“I want to meet the legendary Gary. If he managed to be your friend, I’ve gotta see him.” He looked up to him with a smile. “Really, I’m glad you’ve made a friend. You need one.”

“He’s not-” he was interrupted before he could complete his sentence.

“Really?” Little Cato frowned doubtfully.

“No, he’s not just my friend.” He thought of all the times they have played together, the teasing banter where Avocato never meant anything he said, Gary’s laughter. He seemed happy around him, and he dug deep enough to admit that Gary was making him happy too. Avocato smiled. “He’s my best friend.”

“That soon?” He shrugged. “Well, I don’t judge.”

After what felt like ten minutes of walking, they finally made it to the store in question, and there he saw the familiar head of blond hair with the unique bomber jacket.

“Brovacato!” He screamed from the distance, pinpointing his target as he came running towards him. Avocato met him halfway. “Clasp me!” He demanded, and they clasped their hands together before following up with a fist bump. “How’s my best bro doing?”

“Whoa,” Little Cato said in awe as he approached his father’s side, staring at their hands. Gary blinked, looking down to the much smaller Ventrexian. Little Cato looked awestruck, eyes wide with wonder, paws hovering over his mouth. “So you’re Gary.”

“Yes, yes I am,” he confirmed, followed by a confused look, “and you- who are you? You look- kind of like a smaller version of Avocato, but orange, instead of tuxedo. Plus, that hair? You’re rocking that.”

“You never told him about me?!” Little Cato almost seemed insulted. Who knew a kid would get upset for not being thoroughly embarrassed by childhood stories being told to a stranger.

Avocato was surprised he never told Gary about Little Cato, really. It was true he was known for being on the stoic side, except for when he spoke about his son. Gary did lead most of the conversations, family had not been a subject they talked about, weirdly enough.

“Gary,” he began, “there’s someone I’d like to introduce you to.” He gestured to Little Cato. “This is my son, Little Cato. Little Cato, this is Gary, my friend from work.”

“Oh ho ho,” Gary chuckled, albeit nervously, “you’ve got a kid.”

Gary appeared nervous, looking down at Little Cato before meeting his eyes again. He chewed on his lower lip, like he wanted to say something, ask something that was probably an invasive question. Avocato narrowed his eyes, speaking before Gary’s mind went on autopilot again. “Is there a problem with that?”

If Gary had a problem with Little Cato, then whatever friendship they had accumulated thus far would immediately be terminated. The sentiment is equal if Little Cato did not like Gary.

“Whoa!” Gary straightened his back, waving his arms around, “whoa, back the train up, then back it a little further, bud! No! Of course there’s no problem. I like kids, kids are cool, plus he’s a teenager, I- think. How old is he?”

“Fourteen years of kickass!” Little Cato answered.

“Oh, fourteen. You look it.” He nodded. “I’m just surprised,” Gary rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I thought it’d just be us?”

“Like a date?” Little Cato teased.

“What?! Oh! Oh no, little guy, your dad and I- we’re just best bros. We clasp and hug, and sometimes cry on each other’s shoulders.” He cleared his throat, blushing. Avocato found it odd for him to be embarrassed, Gary was usually open about affection.

“You were the one crying,” he said defensively.

“Do not deny the tear that escaped your lid, it’s a precious symbol of our friendship.”

Little Cato looked thoroughly amused by the exchange. Avocato could only roll his eyes. “My son wanted to meet you,” he changed the subject, “and he wanted to go to the mall today too.”

“I can leave you guys alone.” Little Cato shrugged. “I wanted to check out that new video game store and the arcade while my dad went shopping.”

“There’s only one problem with that, Jr.”

“What?”

“I wanted to go to those places with your father. They have preorders for Final Fantasy XCIX, I couldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Oh,” Little Cato looked up at Gary with wonder, “my,” he grinned, “god! I want that game sooo bad! It’s looks so cool! And have you seen those virtual reality graphics?! The gameplay?! The characters?!” Little Cato flapped his hands excitedly, like he was fanning himself. His son was bound to fixate on that game the moment it came out.

“High five me right now, little man!”

Little Cato leaped up and slapped Gary’s palm, the clap resounded above the ambiance of the mall.

“I’m sorry Avocato, but do not shed tears over me, I’m afraid, I’ve found a new best friend, and his name is Little Cato.” He fist bumped his son.

“Are you serious? My son, stealing my own best friend from me?” He put a hand on his chest dramatically.

Gary slung an arm around his shoulders. “Of course not.” He poked Avocato’s side. “We’re bonded for eternity, bromates.”

“Well, I guess I have to come with you guys now. Lead the way, oh great Gary.” Little Cato bowed.

They left for the video game store then, Gary’s arm still slung around his shoulders as they walked, Little Cato taking the lead as he moved a few steps ahead of them.

This was. Nice. Little Cato and Gary got along. That’s good.

They got to the game store and Gary preordered the game, stating that Avocato did not need to order it for his son, because he can share his copy when it comes out. Avocato was not rich by any means, and Gary was easily able to deduce this.

That meant a lot to him.

Little Cato said ‘thank you’ at least three times before they left.

Once they reached the arcade, Little Cato took off to play his favorite games, abandoning Avocato and Gary without a second glance.

“You like the arcade?” He asked, incredulous.

“Who doesn’t?”

Avocato smirked, recalling his favorite virtual zombie game. He could use any of the guns he desired to take down the undead. The vast variety of weapons is what sold the game for him, with the option to hold up to six at once. It was completely realistic within the helmet too, he played it whenever he took Little Cato here. “You’ve got me there.”

“So you do like the arcade!” Gary practically glowed at this new information. “What’s your favorite game, I just have to know!”

“Zombie Raiders 9: Attack on the Universe and Beyond the Unknown.”

“Long title.”

“Fun game.”

“I’ll show you my favorite, come here.” Gary led him to the furthest back room of the arcade where there were not as many people. It appeared as though the place was abandoned. He looked around at the strange machinery and flashing screens as they emitted sound effects, advertising each game.

He had never been in this room before.

“I’ve never seen- technology like that.” Avocato was curious, finding the large rectangular boxes more out of shape. Most of the games were pixelated and slow, unlike the others in the main room featuring holographics and life-like gameplay.

“Some of this stuff is like- super vintage. It’s so old, older than a lot of my great grandmas and great great grandmas. Humans didn’t even have ships back then.”

“Damn, that’s old,” he whistled.

“Here it is!” He made a grand gesture to the machine shoved at the back corner. There were glowing squares on the ground with arrows inside them. Avocato looked to the flashing screen, then to the large logo of the game printed on top, _Dance Dance Revolution_.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the new version too, but this is so old school, it makes it cooler on so many levels.” Gary hopped onto the machine, spinning around to face him with a grin. “Dance with me, Avocato!

There were people in the world that danced, and there were people in the world that did not.

Avocato did not dance.

“Uh, I think I’m good.”

“Come on, Avo, get loose, footloose!” He inserted a token into both slots on the machine, stepped out, and tugged Avocato by the wrist, pulling him back onto the playing mat.

“Wait, I don’t know how to play!”

“It’s easy, just put your foot on the right arrow when it shows up on the screen. Follow my lead.”

Gary started the game and Avocato fumbled on his feet awkwardly, stepping down on each arrow to the best of his ability. At first, he kept missing, and the game taunted him for his misses. Finally, he started to improve as he followed Gary’s rhythm.

It turns out Gary is really good at dancing. He was surprised he did not know about this information beforehand. Gary focused on the screen, entirely engrossed. The colors of the flashing lights reflected on him, making it look as though he were on an actual dance floor. He pulled extra unnecessary stunts beyond the game, turning and flipping, moving his arms like a professional dancer. He was like water flowing through a river.

Avocato felt like a stumbling fool with two left paws.

By the end Gary had twirled around him, holding onto him by the waist and turning him over, pulling him down low, dipping him smoothly.

He suppressed a laugh and lightly shoved Gary’s face away. “Way to be extra, man,” he teased.

He stood up and let go of him, patting him on the back. “Hey, I don’t control the dance, the dance controls me.” He threw his hands in the air. “And I just love to dance! You’ve gotta feel the mood and go with the flow. It’s so exhilarating and free! Don’t you think?”

He looked at him with hopeful eyes. Avocato was by far means a good dancer, but he could understand. He enjoyed himself despite his reluctance at first.

“Yeah, it’s freeing,” he could not help but agree.

Gary grinned then. He was about to say something, but then-

“Oh my gosh!” They both spun around to see Little Cato. “I’ve never seen my dad dance before.” He leaned over the back railing on the game. “You were so cool, Gary! I didn’t know you could dance so awesomely like that!” He looked to Avocato. “And, uh- well you tried, dad.”

“Your dad may have looked like a wet blanket in the wind,” Gary slapped a hand on his shoulder, “but with some training with a super totally cool dancer like me, he’ll look like a cat rocking some boots.”

“You really think you could teach him? I felt kind of bad watching that.”

Avocato groaned. “I’m standing right here. How could you say that about your father?”

Little Cato put a hand on his chest and nodded to him reassuringly. “I’m just trying to look out for you.”

They played various games together after that, all three playing Avocato’s favorite, then Little Cato’s, a virtual reality Thimble match between the three. Gary got taken out of the match right away, then Little Cato won the game after a few more rounds.

Gary commented on how good they were, especially Little Cato. The praise for his son made him smile.

Avocato needed to grab a few groceries before he got home, and so, he left Little Cato to hang out with Gary in the arcade since the two were having so much fun together.

He explored the various isles of the nearest grocery store in the mall, picking out anything they would need.

He did not have to travel alone for too long, as he saw Gary pushing Little Cato around in a floating cart at the end of an isle. The two laughed, before staring at each other with a serious expression, pulling a funny face as they did so. They sped off, and Avocato bumped into them in the next isle over, literally.

“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” Avocato narrowed his eyes, looking between the two culprits.

Little Cato stopped doing the new, hip pose that kids often took pictures in and turned to face him, fingers curling around the edge of the cart as he laughed nervously. “Oh, hey, dad.”

Gary shot him an equally as nervous and strained grin. “We were-“ his mind went blank, like he had to process the perfect, most obvious excuse he was going to make, “grocery shopping! Yeah! Just like you. We’re just helping.”

“Really?” He quirked a brow in disbelief. “Because to me, it looked like-“ he waited to answer, just to revel in how nervous they looked, keep them on their toes. They asked for it, after all. “To me it looked like you were having fun without me. Move over, son, it’s my turn in the cart.”

“Oh, hell yeah! That’s my Avocato! Get in here!” Gary cheered.

Little Cato hopped up into the top part of the cart, where he once sat as a tiny Ventrexien reaching out for his father or anything he could get his little toe beans on to chew. His butt barely fit into the spot now, but he was determined to sit there.

Avocato clambered into the main part of the cart, holding onto the edges.

If someone told him he would be doing this a month ago, he would laugh sarcastically in their face.

“Hold on, we’re gonna get fast and furious up in this joint,” Gary said, and suddenly, Avocato had some doubts, but it was too late to back out now.

They sped down the halls, and through the toy isle. Little Cato snatched a pair of toy binoculars and a sword from the shelf as they passed. He held it in the air as though he were a captain of a pirate ship. “Onwards!” He shouted. Avocato grabbed at the groceries they needed, multitasking.

They reached a long, empty area, stretching from one end of the store to the other. “Are we doing this?” Gary slid his foot on the ground, as though to mimic the revving of an engine.

“Yes,” Avocato growled out seriously.

He ran, pushing the cart forward at full force.

“Iceberg ahead!” Little Cato shouted.

“Oh no, we’re not going to make it,” Gary tried to pull back and swerve, but they only tipped.

“Tell my son I love him,” were Avacato’s final words as all three of them fell over.

They crashed into a giant display of precariously balanced balls stacked in all sizes. He shouted in surprise, claws exploding a couple of them.

They may have created the loudest sound in existence. Balls bounced in every direction, slapping against shelves and continuously in movement. It sounded like a jet engine, but only if it were filled with bouncing balls and screaming chicken toys.

The person who had done it must have taken an entire shift to do so. It was impressive how one could stack balls like that, one would assume the task to be impossible. Avocato momentarily felt their pain at the dedicated work, destroyed in a fraction of a second.

His head popped out from underneath a pile of balls, adding more scattered bounces to the mix. “Yeah, baby, that was amazing!”

“Um, Avocato,” Gary spoke urgently, anxiously.

He turned his head, looking up to the giant alien lumbering above them, blue and built entirely of muscle. He felt the faintest wheeze escape him at the sight. Mall security.

“Oh, fuck,” he whispered. “This is bad.”

“Wow, you look, very strong,” Gary nodded, “very, very, very strong, like you could just snap our necks with your finger. You’re not actually going to do that, right? Because I don’t really feel like dying today?” 

Wordlessly, he lifted them, yanking him and Avocato up, pinching him at the scruff of the neck and making him crunge at the sensation, while gary dangled from his jacket. Little Cato was in his other hand, his entire body held in the clasp of his palm. Gary was still talking as he lumbered them to the main entrance of the grocery store.

The large alien ungracefully tossed them outside of the mall. They tumbled to the ground, landing in a large puddle.

It must have started raining while they were inside.

The rain gently pattered against his cheeks as he stared up at the sky, his nose twitching instinctively as droplets landed on his whiskers.

Little Cato laughed, turning towards them, expression subtly changing to curiosity.

He realized Gary was on top of him as he entered his vision, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, Avocato was in a similar state as he started to laugh, hand holding onto Gary’s back as a brace, as though holding him would help him get off the ground and stop laughing.

They just laid there like idiots, laughing on the wet surface of the earth.

He looked up at him, and he met his gaze, both continuing to snicker and giggle.

Loudly, his son cleared his throat, and in unison with Gary, he turned his head to look over at him.

“Uhh,” Little Cato looked between them with a weird look, and for once, Avocato could not read what his son was thinking. “Shouldn’t we get up now?”

“Right,” they said in unison and stood up. Avocato shuddered, his entire back soaked unpleasantly. He could feel the drops of water running down the skin beneath his fur.

Little Cato shared his suffering. Even Gary was wet, half of his fluffy hair soaked and glued to his head, while the mostly dry half still stuck upwards.

They turned to the entrance in time to see holographic posters of them being added to a wall of banned customers at the window. Gary shrugged. “Well, uh, at least there’s a thousand other grocery stores in the city.”

“Their groceries sucked anyways.” Avocato glowered.

“Aw man, and I wanted food from the mall, but now I’m soaked and cold.” Little Cato shivered.

Gary took off his coat then, and offered it to him, putting it around his trembling form. “Here you go, small fry, it’s wet too, but it might help.”

“We should go home and dry up,” Avocato said.

“So no supper?”

He frowned.

“Wait, I have an idea,” Gary said. “You brought your car, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Then what are we waiting for? The delicious delicacy of takeout is calling for us, we must not ignore this beacon of fate.”

It was a great idea, and Little Cato was more than satisfied with the suggestion. They got the food, went home, and changed into warm clothes. Gary stayed awhile longer, and Avocato insisted that he borrow some of his clothes so he could be dry, so long as he promised to return them later.

Once they were done eating, Little Cato retreated to his room, and Avocato stood outside of the apartment with Gary, wanting to bid him farewell.

“I’ve never had a best friend before,” he blurted out honestly, and continued before he could think twice. “It’s- nice.”

“Hooo, okay,” Gary twiddled his fingers, “truth is, I’ve never had a best friend either. And I- I had an amazing time with you tonight, and with your boy! He’s a really good kid. You’ve raised him well.”

Avocato wanted to argue that he was not the greatest father for his boy, but held back.

“To be honest,” Gary shrugged, as if hesitant to admit something, as though thinking _here it goes_ , before speaking again, “I saw you- the day I got back on earth. You were walking into the coffee shop for work, and maybe it sounds stupid,” His eyes never met his, as much as Avocato tried to meet them, “but you looked lonely. Every time I saw you in the morning on my walks, you were alone with this- seriously grumpy face, I mean, I didn’t even know if you could physically smile when I first saw you. No friends, no phone, no pets. And yes, maybe it seems stalkerish, but I swear I was just passing by the one time when you closed, and you looked so tired, and- defeated. And I thought “hey, I’m pretty lonely, and this guy’s lonely too, who could really use a pick-me-up, maybe we could be friends.””

“Gary, that is kind of stalkerish, you don’t really know when to give up, do you?” He sighed. “I’m not lonely, but I- I am alone- in the sense that-” a heart-to-heart came hard for him, but he pressed on, “I have no friends, no partner. I’ve never had any for a long time. Well, not until I met you. So I just want to say- thank you.” 

He placed his hands on his shoulders.

Gary did the same. “You’ve got it bud.”

“Are we-?”

“Should we-?”

“Bring it here, bud.” Gary pulled him into a hug, and it felt warm, safe, even. He nuzzled into the crook of his neck. He thought that he could get used to hugging Gary.

“Your nose is so cold against my neck. And wet.”

“You ruined the moment.”


	3. Best Friends?

Gary and Avocato continued their daily routine for a couple of months. Without fail, Gary came to the cafe every day. Inside jokes ensued, card games continued, rants from Gary went on, and Avocato would roll his eyes at least once from his antics. They fit together so seamlessly, it felt as though Gary had been his best friend for his entire life.

Avocato started to wonder how he was able to stand work, let alone life, without him.

Gary hung out with him after work as well since their first hangout at the mall. Sometimes Little Cato joined them, other times it was just the two of them, which usually resulted in outings to the bar or the movies.

Unfortunately, Avocato was not able to hang out with him after hours as often for the past couple of weeks. Little Cato had some tests coming up, and Avocato, well, he had another job he had to do, a job that was on call.

Avocato’s freedom on earth came with a price, and that price was Clarence. In exchange for his safe keeping from the Lord Commander, he did jobs for him with little pay and the promise that he would not rat him out to his sworn enemy.

He doubted that would happen anymore though. He was certain that if he ratted out Little Cato’s location, Ash and Fox would be at his throat in an instant, adoptive father or not. Despite his rocky relationship with Clarence, their children got along well.

Whenever Avocato was free, Gary was busy with community work, his own part time job, or had a day planned with Quinn.

This left a small rift. He found himself wanting to spend more time with Gary still. He had nearly forgotten about Quinn, even, how close Gary had gotten to her, and felt a strange pang of jealousy.

He decided not to think too deeply into it. They were friends, soon to be lovers. Avocato showed his total support and gave Gary the highest blessing a best friend could give to ask her out, going out of his way to even give him some advice on proper flirting. He should not get jealous over that. Gary’s been pining after her for five years, long before they even met.

She is a member of the Infinity Guard, climbing higher into the ranks as each year passed, and Avocato, well, he is just some guy that works at a coffee shop, and a former general of the Lord Commander. The literal, complete opposite of her.

Why did that matter though? Why was he thinking about it like that?

“Yo, brovacato, anyone home? You’re like doing that thing cats do when they stare out into space, like they’re watching a little ghost float by. Can you wave to it for me?” He teased.

“I’m not a cat,” he growled out.

“You’re Ventrexian,” Gary finished with a simple smile, placing down his hand of cards. They were in the middle of a game of Go Fish that he effectively cancelled. “Looks like time’s up, you’ve gotta go back to work, put those coffee gears back in motion.”

“Hang out with me?”

Gary tilted his head, surprised. “Huh.” Gary was a rather easy person to read, and right now he was taken off guard by the offer, because usually Gary was always the one to ask to hang out. “Yeah, sure. You’ve got a daaate- I mean day! Day set up?”

“When are you free?”

They agreed on Friday, like the day they first hung out. Gary said that Little Cato could come along if he wanted to because “Spidercat is always awesome and totally welcome to tag along.” The new alias from Gary came to him while Little Cato climbed a tree once and nearly got stuck.

He did not care if he had plans with Clarence that day, he was going to call him and schedule for his job for another day.

He sat at home that night, a call open with said scandal of living creature, hands folded.

The holovid sprung to life, Clarence’s figure flashed into view on the table.

“Clarence, I have a favor to ask.” He asked before he could speak. “You owe me after last time.”

“Ooh, this is rare. And you’re so demanding, I like that. What’s got you so riled up, kitty?”

“I need Friday off,” he growled, “I’ll do the bounty for you on Saturday.”

“You sound desperate. Did the tiny you get sick again?”

“No.”

“Conflicting work schedule?”

“No.”

“Then what for? You cannot possibly break our deal. We signed on paper, with our blood. Death binding contract and whatnot. Oh, you remember, right?”

“Oh, is that Avocato?!” Ash’s voice came to light, interrupting their conversation before she shoved her father out of view. She waved to him excitedly as she came into sight. “Hey, Avo! Tell my bestie I said hi!”

“Ash, we’re busy!” Clarence complained, shooing his daughter away from the holovid. He stood in view again, dusting off his shirt. ”Now, where were we? Oh right, the day off and the bounty. Your target should still be on planet for Saturday. I suppose I could let it slide this time.”

More often than not, Avocato only did odds and ends for him, like cleaning up his ship and running errands he did not feel like doing. This time, however, having a former bounty hunter at his own disposal, he saw a chance of getting a big reward from a very wanted man.

“You swear the target I’m after is bad, right?”

“I mean, he’s no you, but he’s bad enough.”

“He can’t be worse than you then,” he shot back.

“Ooh, Avocato, you handsome Ventrexian, you. You’re such a tease. Of course you can have the day off,” he waved a hand dismissively, “but I expect you to be twice as enthusiastic on Saturday. Plus,” he then spoke quickly, Avocato registering what he said only a few moments after he abruptly cut the call, “you only get three percent of the bounty, toodaloo!”

Little Cato stepped into the room a few minutes after the call, Avocato still staring at where the tiny man’s figure disappeared. “Hey dad,” he earned his attention, “I’ve got something to ask.” 

“Shoot,” he shrugged.

“So, you see, there’s actually Thimble tryouts at school right now. On earth, right? Which is so cool! It’s just like back on Ventrexia, except it’s less violent, because earth has a thing for keeping as many humans alive as possible. So I wont die or lose a limb, and you know I’ll be so good at the game! The team needs me. Thing is, because of how inherently violent it is, I need parental permission, soo-” His foot dug at the floor.

“No.”

Little Cato’s ears drooped, frowning with wide eyes, looking like a kicked kit. “But why not?” 

“You know exactly why,” he sighed. “The same reason I work for Clarence.”

Little Cato was sceptical, brows furrowed in puzzlement, but instead of arguing, he asked, “was that Clarence you were talking to earlier?” 

“Yeah, I was just asking for Friday off. Gary wanted to hang out with us again.” More like, he wanted to hang out with Gary, but Gary was eager to hang out with him, so it went both ways, right? 

“You seriously asked Clarence for a day off just so you could see Gary again?” 

He sighed with a resigned, “yes.”

“Wow, ballsy, you must have it pretty bad for him.”

“What?”

Little Cato gave him a weird look, that same weird look he has been giving him since he first met Gary. “Uh, nevermind, I guess. I’m just,” the disappointment in his eyes were hard to watch, “I’m just going to go back to my room.” He turned around and left, his tail dragging on the ground.

Friday came quickly, and Little Cato had dropped the subject of Thimble.

His son had decided to join them on their outing again, another hang out at the mall, and a move planned with just him and Gary afterwards. 

Cancelling his job with Clarence had been worth every second of his time spent with Gary and his son.

They sat in a small diner after their mall adventure. They decided to stop while they were ahead, and prevent themselves from being kicked out and banned from another store while they could.

Gary’s laughter filled the air, elating every worry Avocato felt deep down. The tune was soft against his sensitive ears, like a calm melody of music, the stroke of a harp. Even at the occasional snort and wheeze, Avocato was drawn to it. 

Gary spoke of a pet he used to own, a caterpillar that turned into a beautiful butterfly. Avocato said he had never seen one before, and Gary promised he would take him to a butterfly sanctuary someday.

He had a stupid ketchup stain on his shirt from shoving fries up his nose in some bad impersonation of a cartoon character, but he could care less.

He never realized how close he had gotten to him, leaning over the table with his cheek in his hand, his ears tilted in his direction to pick up the noise of a faintest breath, focused only on him. A foot stretched outwards, enough to lightly brush against his whenever he spoke excitedly.

There was a canyon between them, and he was determined to cross it.

“Wow, Avo, what’s with the dopey look?”

"I love you," he mumbled, the words slipped out as though it was natural, like he had said it a thousand times before, and will say it a million times more.

Little Cato’s head snapped in his direction so fast it was a miracle he did not break his neck. He dropped the french fry he held onto the table in shock.

His eyes shot open, realizing the weight of his words. He never noticed what he had been feeling this entire time, not until the very moment he said it. That feeling of hurt he felt when Gary talked about Quinn like she was his world, how he always wanted something more than just a hug, but he could never figure out what. His desire to pull him close whenever he talked about his personal interests and let his head rest on his shoulder.

He had found himself in a few scenarios where he had done something that was borderline romantic and not really platonic. In the sense that, it was no longer easy to tell if they were a couple or just dudes being bros.

He realized with horror, that he could no longer see a future without Gary.

It turns out his feelings run much, much deeper than platonic love.

"What was that, Avo?"

"I said I think I forgot to shampoo." Nice save. That sounded nothing like what he said before.

A brow shot upwards in question, nose quirking up in slight disgust. "Uh, you should probably shower then, bro."

“Right!” He sat up straight in his seat.

Oh shit.

Oh shit, he’s in love with Gary Godspeed.

But Gary likes someone else, right?

He cleared his throat, standing up. “I should do that right now.”

“But we’ve still got the movie to see,” he complained. “Come on, bro, it’s couples night,” perfect, “you know, two movie tickets with free popcorn, it’s cheaper, don’t leave me hangin’. I don’t care if you smell, best bros stick together, even if your fur’s all sticky and smelly.”

“Sorry, I’m busy, turns out Little Cato needs help with homework, right, boy?”

“What- no- I-“

“He’s falling behind,” Avocato nodded sagely. “Let’s go, son,” he took his boy’s hand and tugged him out of his seat, hastily exiting the diner before Gary could reply.

"Dad!" Little Cato whined as they stepped outside. "What are we doing? You need to go back there and ask him out. Like right now!"

"It's not that easy."

"Yes it is!"

"No, it's not." He shot his son a warning glance before he tried to protest again. They walked in silence for a few minutes as they ambled down the sidewalk to the car.

"Oh man-" Little Cato looked enthralled. "Can you imagine? Two dad's!" He sounded way more excited than he should be. He was acting the way he did when he watched a show he was obsessed with, or talked about some obscure celebrity he had never heard of. His feet tapped on the ground in rhythmic excitement, hands unable to stop fidgeting. "A second parent!"

“You’re thinking way too far ahead.” Avocato was really the only parent Little Cato ever had. After his mother-

"You have to,” Little Cato tugged at his sleeve, insistent.

Avocato narrowed his eyes down at him with a questioning look.

"I've never seen you so happy with someone before,” he answered the silent question. “And I think he likes you too.”

At that, Avocato smiled, running his fingers through his son's fur and fluffing his hair at the top. He softly hissed in protest, but meant nothing behind the gesture.

Gary did not show up at work the next day, and a dispodent feeling curled its way around his chest. He wondered if he could have chased Gary away, and lost one of the best people he had ever met in his life.

Had he really heard what he said? No, he could not have. Gary would have reacted to it, right?

Gary showed up the day after, and acted the way he usually did when they met up for break. At first, Avocato felt affronted that he would avoid such an obvious subject that needed to be addressed, then realized that if Gary had not heard what he said, then of course he would not bring it up.

The subject of crushes, however, was brought up again as Gary talked about Quinn. “I should introduce you to her sometime, you know, you both are such good friends, I think it’d be super cool if we were all friends. There’s this other guy, his name is Tribore, by the by, that she hangs out with. He’s cool, weird, but cool. Also genderfluid, but I guess that’s sort of irrelevant, and I’m going off subject again, aren’t I?”

“How’s the search for Quinn’s affection going anyways?” He leaned towards him, quirking a brow with a smirk as he snuffed away feelings deep down. “Is she swooning at your every step now?”

“Uh, well, we’ve been hanging out a lot lately, and I love her! I love her a lot, but I realized, not like that. Not in the “I want you to be my girlfriend and get married and have kids,” yeah? It’s more the “you’re such an awesome friend and I don’t know what I’d do without you,” you know? Like with you, but not the same with you because I-”

“Not really,” he cut him off, “but I get it. What about Quinn then, you two are just friends?”

“Yeah, yeah-“ he brought up a hand to nervously rub the back of his neck, fingers tracing over the short hair at his nape, “we’re like best friends too. Turns out I kinda chased her around for nothing. Because I realized a bit late- that there’s someone else I like.”

“Really? You’re such a player, Gary,” he teased with a smirk. “Who is she?”

“ _ He _ ,” Gary began, “is one of the coolest guys I know, a really awesome dude. I mean, that guy does everything for his son. But he gets a serious case of the grumpies without coffee, even with coffee, so you’ve really gotta watch out when you come in during break and he’s gone just a little bit feral. He doesn’t smile for people often, but when he smiles for me it feels so rewarding because he can be such a serious guy, and I love joking around with him.”

Gary took a second to breath and reached out a hand, gently resting it over Avocato’s.

“He’s the bestest bro a guy could ever ask for. Plus, he’s got the softest fur and the sexiest lips in the galaxy.” Gary smiled. “And I realized too late that I love him too.”

Avocato looked down to their hands. Gary gently squeezed his. He could feel his clammy sweat and the slight tremor of his fingers, a fear of rejection. Unless the tremor was his own, he could not tell.

“Avocato.” Gary met his eyes, and the gesture alone felt far too intimate despite their constant flirtatious banter before. He had to look away. This time, it was real. “I like you a lot, and I just love your kid, Little Cato’s the greatest, and I hope- I hope that maybe we could be- I dunno- maybe boyfriends, or something. And go on dates, and see- see if we could maybe eventually be something even more down the line, and possibly I could be a dad with you someday. Because, that’s where I want to go with this.”

His heart twisted. Gary genuinely cared about Little Cato, and those words meant the world to him. He accepted him, he accepted his son, it’s all he could ever ask for.

He could say so many things back to Gary, how he loved it when he snorted sometimes when he laughed, or how he adored it when he acknowledged Little Cato, his spontaneous personality, blind determination, and ability to talk about literally anything he could think of.

“Best friends with benefits?” He said instead, a joke between them. It felt so minimal to Gary’s perfect confession. Yet, Gary’s eyes shone bright as a grin split his lips, the nervousness in his expression washing away to something positive and warm. For Gary, he understood every emotion behind his words.

“Hell yeah, best friends with benefits! Aka, boyfriends though, right?”

“The bestest, most coolest, most amazing best-friends-slash-boyfriends the galaxy has ever seen.” He threw an arm around Gary’s shoulder, despite the table between them stabbing into his ribs.

“God, I could just just kiss you right now!” But instead, Gary pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. He would have preferred the kiss. Gary might have broken his lungs.

This was okay though.

This was just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fellas-


	4. Gary’s Conundrum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is sort of like a bonus chapter I wrote I guess? It takes place the night Avocato accidentally confessed to Gary. There are a few chapters like this where the POV is different just as a warning. c:

Gary burst into his small motel room, yelling like a madman running for his life. "Oh my God!" He shouted, running into the room and bumping into his bed.

"Mooncake, where are you?! This is an emergency, I need you right now, buddy, you better not be raiding my cookie stash again!"

With a few chirps of denial from the cupboards, Mooncake floated over to him, residual crumbs dusting their lips.

Wow, okay, Mooncake had the audacity to not even hide the evidence of their crimes, a punishment that Gary swears he would bring down on Mooncake (probably not), with a firm foot on the ground (definitely not).

But none of that mattered right now. Who cares about cookies when the guy you've been secretly pining for the past month or two while lying about your crush because you did not want to drop it and suddenly make it weird or seem suspicious- wow, that's a lot to think- but what if that guy, who is also your bestest friend ever in the universe has been pinning for you too?

Okay, maybe the cookies were important too.

He glared, but knew deep down it would never hold, and turned into a pathetic pout.

"I'll forgive you. I just need you to do me this one solid, okay?"

Mooncake tilted their body with curiosity before making a sound of affirmation.

"I need you to pretend to be Avocato for me."

Mooncake tended to get this strange look whenever he mentioned Brovacato, like he wanted to say something above a “chookity,” but thought against it. This time, however, they just appeared outright confused.

At the questioning look, Gary explained himself before his mind caught up.

"He said he loved me! Like, not platonically, I swear- or he's just really bad at giving signals- which he is, by the way! He looked like he was going to kiss me, his son was even freaked out! Or maybe it is a bro-thing?! Do Ventrexians kiss in a platonic way, Oh God, this interspecies stuff is confusing.” He held his face in his hands before sighing in defeat. “But it seemed like he really really meant it. I mean, he was so freaked out at what he said he cancelled movie night. I pretended I didn’t hear him, because he seemed embarrassed, but I did.”

Hearing Avocato’s admission of love filled him with an overwhelming amount of happiness. He wanted to hear him say it at least five times more in rapid succession. Who cares if they’re not even together yet, if they’ve known each other for only a few months.

He was ready to ride or die with Avocato at any given word, even just as the self assigned best friend of the galaxy, platonic bromates. He’s ready.

The thought that maybe, just maybe he had a real chance with Avocato though,  _ romantically _ , he wanted to cling to it.

Mooncake nodded in understanding, and gave his best impersonation of Avocato, solely basing his posture and attitude on the many stories and traits Gary constantly told them about.

“Okay,” he loudly cleared his throat, “he it goes.” A pause. “I’m gonna- I’m gonna say it now.” Another pause. “Time to admit my feelings, heart to heart.” He shook his body out like he was getting ready to run a marathon, a marathon of feelings, that is.

Mooncake floated with the patience of a saint.

“Avocato. We’re best friends, so I think we should tell each other secrets. Here, I’ll tell you mine first, I’m in love with you and I’ve been stupidly pinning for you for awhile.”

Mooncake shook their head disapprovingly.

“What? That’s not even good enough for an Avocato response?”

They nodded.

“Fine.” Here goes another shot. “I’m really fucking gay for you even though we’re best friends.”

Another shake of the head.

“I want your son to be my son!” He shouted more desperately.

He got a loud, “bock!” of protest.

“I am not!” He argued. “Listen, Avocato, buddy, pal, I love you man, but not in the best friend way. I want us to hold hands and push each other in carts, which we already do, but in the gay way, not in the friend way, well, the friend way too. You know. Both.” He nodded. “Both.”

Mooncake's body took his entire vision, the tiny creature shoving their body into his face, glaring, and angrily chirping.

"Oh, geez, ouch, it's true, and it hurts so much! I can't believe Avocato would say this to me."

Next, Mooncake lowered closer to the ground, impersonating his son, chirping again.

“What do you mean I’m not good enough for your dad?!” It’s probably true, but he’s going to just pack that feeling away for the moment.

“Listen, maybe we’re just a couple of dudes in this vast universe, living on earth of all places, but that doesn’t matter to me, because with you, I feel at home, Avocato. And I hope you feel the same way. I like you. And I want you to be my boyfriend.” For a second, he pictured Avocato’s smile and the thought alone made him do so too.

Mooncake looked thoughtful before nodding.

“You think that’s good?” He hummed before another smile curved his lips upwards. “You know, I think I’m going to roll with the moment instead.” He decided. Maybe the whole impersonation thing was for nothing, but he feels like he knows what to do next, and that was enough. “I don’t have much in my life, but this, I want this, and I can only hope that he wants it to. If he doesn’t- well- then I guess I might lose everything all over again.”

Mooncake chirped with encouragement before nuzzling his face.

“You’re right,” he pulled Mooncake into a hug, “I’m going to do it.”

They let out something akin to a purr and Gary held them closer, “thank you for believing in me."


	5. Flour Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> c;

Despite officially being Earth’s hottest new couple, the outings between Gary and Avocato did not change much. Instead of calling it “hanging out,'' they just called them dates. 

They pretty much did the same thing as before, movies, bars, mall hangouts, restaurants, even strolling in the park. Whatever came to mind, really, even when they spent time with Little Cato. There was a key difference though. There was much, much more hand holding and affectionate staring. Lots of touching, most of the time in a non-sexual way. Most of the time.

Their first date was a disaster, which had them both drenched in the goo of a foreign alien that Gary accidentally surprised during an all-you-can-eat buffet night at the local restaurant. He was honestly trying to start a casual lighthearted conversation with them. Who knew tapping someone on the shoulder would cause such a catastrophe. The family restaurant was closed down temporarily.

Unsurprisingly, this was the second time Gary had single-handedly closed down a restaurant.

By the end of the night though, they were laughing, and Avocato was smearing away the goo on Gary's cheek while he tried to brush away drops stuck in his muzzle.

Somehow, any date with Gary Goodspeed was exciting.

Maybe it was because he somehow managed to turn any situation into something fun and interesting, or maybe it was because Avocato enjoyed spending time with Gary, no matter where they were, even at home.

“So, I was thinking of yellow and red flowers. Oh, oh! The main theme could be yellow because of your undying friendship. I want to be the flower girl, obviously, and I wanna wear a dress. Can we make flower crowns too? What do you think?” Little Cato rambled as he kneaded the dough in his hands, paws dusted in flour.

“Of course you can wear a dress.” He said supportively, despite not understanding his rambling.

“Oh yeah, awesome! So, when’s the wedding?”

Avocato paused to register what he was saying. “What wedding?”

“Your’s and Gary’s? Keep up with the conversation. You were nodding along the whole time!”

Right. He may have been thinking about Gary while Little Cato was talking about Gary.

Avocato sneezed as Little Cato flung flour dust at him with a shout of, “pay attention to me!” A wad of snot landed on top of the dough.

“Oh, that is sooo gross,” Little Cato looked thoroughly disgusted.

Avocato shuddered, running his hands over his face and groaning. “I cannot consciously give these cookies out if my snot is all over them.”

He pulled his hands away and Little Cato stared at him in a solid moment of silence, before a snort escaped, followed by a giggle fit, then laughter that could make the neighbours hit their brooms against the wall to make them shut up again.

“Y-y-you,” he could not form a sentence let alone words between fits of laughter, “f-face,” another giggle, “reverse panda!” He wheezed, slapping the table.

Avocato could barely formulate words in his own confusion, until he looked down at his hands, white from all of the flour.

Oh.

He frowned at him with narrowed eyes before smirking playfully. Patting a dusty pile of flour, he planted a nice, white paw print on Little Cato’s cheek.

He looked five all over again, adorable, but also hilarious. Avocato laughed.

By the time there was knocking at the door, it opened after a familiar voice spoke. They never heard the newcomer as they tossed flour at each other.

Gary waltzed in, and they both froze, looking towards him.

“Oh, shit- or- sugar crackers- did I just walk into the wrong household?” He chuckled nervously. “You know, I really could have sworn I checked the number outside at least three times before coming in, and also that I’ve been here a few times before. I am  _ so _ sorry.”

“Gary, get in here already,” he said with a roll of the eyes.

Gary walked in and stood near the table, a small smile on his lips before looking between the two with furrowed brows. “Avocato? Little Cato? Did you guys dye your fur? You're both- very white.”

Little Cato spat out a cloud of the white dust. “We’re baking. There’s a cookie contest going on at the school that I entered, and dad’s helping me make the cookies. We thought tonight would be a good night to do them.”

“Wow, cookies? I love cookies.” Gary walked over to the table, reaching out to steal some dough.

“No, don’t! Dad got his gross germs all over it with his sneeze.”

“Oh, gross,” Gary retracted his hand. “It looks like you guys are having a lot of fun. Now I feel left out.”

Little Cato raised his flour covered paws, wiggling his fingers deviously. “I can change that.” He jumped onto the table and sprung at Gary, who let out a cry of surprise as he clung to him. He hung off of him, arms wound around his shoulders in an awkward hug. Gary awkwardly held him as he nuzzled into his shirt.

When he dropped Little Cato, he could see some of the orange in his fur again. Gary’s shirt and jacket had suffered the consequences from the hug.

“That’s more like it. Now you’re one of us,” Little Cato proclaimed with a proud nod.

Gary looked down at the damage and dusted at his shirt in vain. “Oh, you’re an evil little french fry, you know that?” He pointed to him before staring down at the dough curiously. “So, a cookie contest?” There was a spark in Gary’s eyes, a smile that gave way to the excitement he felt with this new information.

Avocato leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. “We’re trying to win the contest this time, because Hellen and her kid’s cookies always turn out the best. Every time she wins, she gloats about it for months afterwards at the PTA meetings. It’s annoying.” He rolled his eyes.

“Aw, what-” Gary huffed, “what a bitch. You know, maybe I could help with that. I know how to make cookies. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

He inspected the dough as though it was a piece of art to critique. He poked it and prodded it, scooping a tiny piece of a clean bit into his mouth.

“You call these cookies? Even without the boogers, the dough isn’t soft enough, it needs both more sugar, and chocolate chips. It’s like you’re trying to make bread, but if it wasn’t bread, but like, a hard croissant.”

“These aren’t supposed to be chocolate chip cookies, those are too basic, we need something that’ll impress people,” Avocato shot back skeptically.

“You fool!” Gary pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. “Not another word. You shan’t slander the best cookie in existence, shame on you for doubting it’s worth! Basic, pah! They’re masterpieces in the form of abstract art.”

Little Cato watched the exchange, seeming incredulous about the chocolate chip cookie as well.

Gary put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “Listen, Spidercat. When I was around your age, my father showed me the best possible recipe for a cookie contest, I swear, it was almost like cheating, but it’s not. I won the contest, and I bet this’ll win it for you too. And do you know what kind of cookie it was?”

“What kind of cookie was it?”

“You can bet your sweet ass it was the chocolate chip cookie.” He smiled fondly, as though reliving a distant memory Avocato could not reach.

Avocato took note, that this was one of the few times Gary had ever spoken about his family. He only gathered tiny bits of information. He did not have any siblings, or any other relatives that he had talked about. He never mentioned his mother, and only mentioned his father a couple of times in passing.

“Move over, Catos.” Gary brushed past Avocato, pulling him from his thoughts, and raided his cupboards, grabbing at various utensils and tupperware containers, along with other ingredients. “I’m about to show you how to make the best cookies ever. Hellen can go to hell!”

He put all of the ingredients down onto the table. Gary never took reference, clearly knowing the recipe by heart. He continued to speak, “so this contest is for you, Spidercat, so I want you to do all of the work. I’ll guide you. First, I want you to take this egg. Look at it, appreciate it.” Gary offered more instructions, and as Little Cato began mixing the wet ingredients, he turned to face Avocato.

“Don’t you have to work in the morning?”

“Yeah,” he looked to his son, “but I need to-”

“Why don’t you go clean up and get ready for bed? I can help Spidercat with this.” He smiled then, and Avocato felt his concern wash away. He nodded in response and stood up.

As he left, he heard Gary giving Little Cato advice on how to portion things better.

He took his time in preparation for bed.

When he finished showering and changing into pajamas, he went back into the hallway, peeking around into the kitchen 

Gary was now showing Little Cato how to roll the cookies into perfect little balls, and flatten them just a little bit in order to make them into the perfect shape.

He leaned against the wall and watched them as they worked.

He felt a warmth deep down that spread throughout his body at the sight, relaxing where he stood. The soft hum of content that escaped him made him realize that he had been smiling the entire time.

Gary made a horrible joke about cookies that Little Cato groaned at, but there was a playful smile as he made a remark.

They got along well. It was as though Gary fit in with them perfectly.

This felt good.

It felt right.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?” Avocato felt his tail fluff a little in surprise as Gary suddenly stood in front of him, all personal space breached.

“Maybe,” he pretended to act as though he had not been startled. Really, Gary was distracting in all forms. Avocato was losing touch with his perception because of him. “I just thought I would check on you one last time before bed.”

“Well, we’re doing totally fine out here. Unlike with everything else, you can trust me with baking.” 

“I suppose I trust you not to burn the house down.” Gary let out a large yawn then, and Avocato added, “you can spend the night, you know.”

“We’ll see how long it takes for those cookies to finish baking. I might take you on that offer.” He smiled. “Now vamoose, off to bed with you!”

“Don’t stay up too late, son!” He raised his voice over Gary, warning him. Then said more quietly, “don’t let him stay up any later than one on the weekends.”

“Got it.”

“Goodnight, babe.” He stood on his toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Gary smiled warmly, touching his cheek. “I’m never washing this cheek again.”

Avocato shook his head, sighing in playful exasperation. “You should if you want more kisses.” 

Gary told him goodnight, and he heard his son shout from the kitchen a quick, “love you, goodnight!”

He fell soundly asleep to the sound of Little Cato and Gary’s laughter.

* * *

Gary had ended up staying the night in his apartment. He hung around the the place with Little Cato while he was at work, and finally decided to go home after they all had dinner together.

“Well, this is the place. My home. You can just- park out front here and I’ll head in.” Gary pointed to the motel and Avocato turned into the parking lot.

He parked and stared out the window at the place. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

“Yup! The good ol’ home steed, my place of rest. It’s where I hang out when I’m not with you or Quinn, or at work with my part timer, you know? A place.”

“Gary, this is a motel?”

“Yes?” He poked his fingers together anxiously. “Is there something wrong with that? I mean, I’ve been trying to find a real place, kinda hard with earth’s shitty economy and the whole overpopulation thing and this city’s pretty pricey. I kinda lost everything to my name after the whole five years in prison thing, and it’s hard to find a job and being good without stealing and whatnot. Did I mention I used to steal- but uh- don’t worry about it, everything’s good now, I swear. I’ve kinda grown attached to the place here too, it’s awesome, and the owners are nice, they let me stay with cheap rent-”

“Gary, It’s okay. I’m just- surprised.”

“Oh.” He chuckled nervously. Avocato was uncertain if he believed him. “well, then. How about you come in and see my crib?”

Gary led him through the courtyard and into the building. He opened the door to a room on the second floor, then he paused at a realization. “Wait don’t come in- oh you’re already inside, nevermind.” He chuckled again.

“Wow.” He looked around. There was a single bed crammed into a small space, a microwave on the other side of the room, and a television in front of the bed. There was a door beside the microwave, the bathroom. That was ignoring the fact that the room was on the messier side, with soda cans everywhere and a pair of pajamas haphazardly tossed on the bed. “It’s small, like, way smaller than my apartment. You live like this?”

Gary chewed at his lip, unable to restrain himself. “I lied! It sucks here! There’s no stove, so I can’t bake anything! The microwave broke three weeks ago and there’s still no replacement. I’ve been living on sandwiches and lunchables, it’s a complete nightmare!”

“It does really suck here,” he agreed bluntly.

He sighed. “I know, man. I mean, I guess this is more than what I had before anyways, but still!”

This new information made him a little concerned for Gary’s past. Avocato’s ears tilted, taking a sudden thought to consideration. “Maybe you could,” he hesitated, feeling like maybe it was too soon, but given Gary’s situation, “live with me?” 

Gary stared at him with shock. “That’s- that’s a serious offer?” He asked, disbelief at the edges of his voice.

“Yes,” he said, before he quickly added, “but don’t think you’ll be living with me for free. We may be boyfriends, but we’re splitting rent.”

“Am I allowed to use your stove?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, yeah! Brovacado, we must clasp for this and officially seal the deal.” He held out his hand and Avocato immediately took it. Suddenly, Gary pulled him in close and rested a hand at the small of his back.

Avocato Adjusted himself to wrap his arms around Gary’s shoulders. 

“Oh, yeah, bring it in, sugar whiskers, nice and close.”

Avocato snorted, coming in close so their faces were mere centimetres apart. “What’s happening?”

“Is this- is this going to be our first kiss?” Gary asked, staring at him with a curious tilt of the head and a soft smile.

“I don’t know,” he felt Gary press closer to him as his hands slowly slid down to his waist, “is it?”

“Hell yeah.”

He leaned in, and-

“Chookity!” He could have sworn he heard something akin to a squeaky toy, his lips firmly pressed against something smooth and definitely not Gary’s soft-looking lips. He wouldn’t know, he never got to kiss him.

“What do you mean “no sinning in my house” this is my house?!” Gary shouted. “Sort of- i mean- it’s a motel really, but that’s not the point!”

Avocato pulled away, seeing the green orb of a creature that effectively cock blocked him, floating between them to separate them.

When they faced him, Avocato’s mouth hung open. It stared back at him, just as shocked at the appearance of a familiar face.

“Why- Gary, how in the hell did you end up with this thing?”

“What? This? This thing isn’t a thing- it’s Mooncake.”

“Mooncake?” Avocato shook his head, pointing to it accusingly. “That is not a Mooncake, that thing is a planet destroyer.”

“What- no- that’s just my pet, he goes with me everywhere. Seriously, everyone’s cool with it. I think they’re just a rare breed of alien dog, so does everyone else.”

“No, Gary, that’s specimen E-351. The Lord Commander had it locked away until it escaped. He’s still looking for it. It doesn’t matter where you are, or what you’re doing. He will find it, and he’s willing to destroy anything in his way. You’re lucky to be alive. How the hell did you end up with it?”

“They just- kind of showed up on the prison ship, so I took them to earth with me. Really, they’re harmless, I swear. I don’t- who even is the Lord Commander? Avocato-”

Mooncake interjected with its own statement of surprise. “Wait wait wait, Mooncake, you seriously knew Avocato?! Why did you not say that sooner?!” He ran a hand through his hair and gestured wildly, “How?” Mooncake made a noise affirmation to him followed by a few more. “He tried to capture you?!”

Mooncake explained to him further, “but then he helped you?”

Avocato could recall the agreement he had made with the specimen. If it helped him get Little Cato back, then it was free to go, to hide from the Lord Commander just as he did. He never much believed in fate, but briefly, he did wonder if that was how they found each other again. “I think Mooncake was the one to help me.”

“I don’t- I have no idea what either of you are talking about. Avocato, I thought you were just some stay-on-earth dad, but you were out there, in space, trying to capture Mooncake, but then you helped him? How did that even happen?!” Gary stepped closer to him, resting a hand on his cheek, gently carding his fingers through the short tufts of fur. “I thought- I guess I barely know you.” He frowned.

“That’s a good thing.” He rested his hand over Gary’s. Briefly, Gary did not appear satisfied with the answer he was given. Avocato refrained from telling him the entire story. Part of him wanted to tell him everything in excruciating detail, without any parts left out, how it all sometimes left him awake at night in a restless slumber. Instead, he said, “it’s dangerous to keep Mooncake around, Gary.”

“I’m not getting rid of him, if that’s what you’re trying to say. If they helped you, then you should be grateful and happy that they’re here, right? I thought you’d be like buddies, or pals, or bros.” Gary glared at him, catching him off guard by the rare outburst of hostility. “I’m not moving in with you, not without Mooncake. I don’t care what you say, they stay.”

“It’s your funeral,” he glared back.

“Then so be it.” He pulled his hand away, standing close enough for them to touch, but far enough away to feel like a bridge was between them. Gary gently rubbed at his arm, a gesture of comfort to himself.

Avocato sighed, his will failing him. ”My offer stands. If you still want to live with me, you can. However, Mooncake is not allowed to leave the apartment under any circumstances, it stays inside. At. All. Times. But if you chose to get rid of it, that would be for the best.”

“You’re just not going to tell me what happened between you guys, huh? Run away from that situation. Yeah okay, I kind of do that too, to be fair. So, I guess- we’re just gonna ignore that for now, and I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you telling me to throw Mooncake under a bus.”

“Someday, I may tell you,” he assured him, despite the anxiety that settled in his stomach like an anvil. 

He wondered, if he told Gary everything, would he call the Infinity Guard on him? He would not blame him. He deserved it.

He looked away from him with a sigh. “Do you still want to-”

“Kiss? Maybe not right now.”

“No- be together.”

A noise of confusion escaped Gary, before he said, “of course.” He took Avocato’s cheek in a hand and turned his head to face him. “Bro, look at me, I still want to be with you. You don’t have to tell me everything about yourself, but this seems kind of important, you feel? And I want to get to know you better. Just don’t ask me to get rid of Mooncake again, because I won’t.”

“There’s not much good that’s worth knowing about me.”

Gary frowned again. For a moment, Avocato thought he looked hurt, but then there was a blinding smile in place. He wondered if he had imagined it. “That’s- that’s concerning. But We'll take it step by step, okay?”

Mooncake looked at him with concern, eyes drifting between him and Gary. It nodded to him, and Avocato shook his head in response. Theoretically, Mooncake knew enough to tell Gary everything, but the specimen did not appear eager to mention anything, not yet.

“Gary?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m,” he hesitated, “sorry about Mooncake.”

“I don’t know if I can forgive you right away for that.”

Avocato should have thought about the consequences of being in a relationship sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna apologize for posting this a little late, life has been getting a bit busy for me.
> 
> Also, I just want to thank everyone so much for all of the kind comments on this work, it means so much to me, and even if I don't reply, I read every single comment and absolutely love all of them!!
> 
> Love u guys, see u next chapter c:


	6. LC Dunks Hellen

The judges went to each table, lifting a cookie to their mouths and eating excruciatingly slow, savoring every bite to test if a single grain of sugar had been misplaced.

It was Sunday afternoon, and Little Cato eagerly waited as the judges made their rounds. He snuck a taste of Gary’s famous cookies a few days ago when they baked them, and they had to be one of the best things he had ever tasted.

They sold cookies to other people as well, the place was open to the general public, the contest was all a part of a charity fund.

His dad had to work, but fortunately, Gary said he could tag along with him as support, since everyone else had their parents with them. 

Avocato had delivered the news that Gary might be their new roommate if he decided to move in with them, which was totally awesome! Little Cato loved having Gary around, and him moving in with dad was one step closer to marriage city. However, earlier this morning when Gary arrived, and his dad left for work, Little Cato could sense something was off. The way they avoided eye contact, and kept conversation to a minimum. There was a silent tension between them that he could not place, despite the two acting completely normal around each other otherwise.

But maybe he was just imagining things. 

Gary stood next to him, snacking on various other cookies he had already bought from other stands, tasting every one just as the judges did. 

“Wow, some of these are really good,” he said with a mouth stuffed full of cookies, a few spare crumbs on his lips.

Little Cato stared in wonder at Gary as he began to prattle off both the amazing features of the cookies, and what people could have done to make it even better. He noticed how he looked at him and shrugged sheepishly. “When you’re not allowed a cookie for five years, you really think about them. Then maybe eat them until you get sick once you’re allowed to have them again. Our cookie is still the best, by the way,” he assured.

Little Cato’s attention was drawn to the sudden clattering at the empty table next to him.

No way.

There stood Hellen, in all of her infamous glory, flipping her hair back as she went to work unloading the various bags of cookies onto the table. Her daughter stood beside her, looking not nearly as enthusiastic as her mother was to be here.

She saw him staring over her device as she texted. She spared a moment to wave at him, and he waved back.

“Sorry we’re late,” Hellen apologized too sweetly to one of the judges that arrived at her table, asking about her whereabouts. “I had to run my son to soccer practice. You know how it is, we do everything for our kids. He couldn’t afford to miss it for the world.” Her facade was much too sweet, but Little Cato knew of her real intentions. She wanted to win the judges over in sympathy. 

The judge nodded with a polite smile before continuing their rounds a few tables over. It was not long before they would taste their cookies.

“Oh, why if it isn’t the Jr.” she turned to him with a sickeningly sweet smile once she noticed Little Cato. He had the urge to move to the other side of his father as he often did to put a barrier between them, but Avocato was not here this time. Her and his dad would often talk in a casual manner, with undertones of hostile insults thrown at each other. “Is your father not here? The cookies you two make are always lovely, they always had a bit of a taste to them that made me feel… fuzzy inside.” 

Little Cato had to refrain from hissing at the insinuation.

Gary leaned over to whisper into his ear. “Is this- is that the Hellen your dad was talking about? The one with the soccer-mom-I-want-to-speak-to-your-manager hair cut?”

“Yes.”

“What a bitch,” Gary breathed out just below a whisper.

Hellen looked between them curiously, out of range of Gary’s insulted whisper.

“Who is this man, is he a friend of Avocato’s? I’ve never seen him before.”

“Oh, him? Yeah, him-” his mind ran a mile a minute, thinking of some excuse to make Hellen eat her words somehow while not looking like a lonely child without his father, “that’s my dad! Not my dad dad, well yes my dad, but my other dad. I actually have two dads, isn’t that awesome?! He’s just, uh, always busy! And he was free so he wanted to do the contest with me instead of my dad.”

“Reel it back just a bit, son, just like in fishing.” Little Cato let out an “oof!” As Gary slapped him on the back like an encouraging father that was trying way too hard, letting out a hearty laugh before leaning in close again and whispering to him hurriedly, “but I’m not-“

“Just roll with it,” he hissed back.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I was unaware that Avocato had been lovingly married to a partner this entire time. He always struck me as the single father of the school. A bit quiet. Always alone at the meetings.” He could feel her judging the situation, making remarks that were borderline insulting. ”Are you aware that he doesn’t wear a ring? Maybe it’s on a necklace?”

Gary chuckled nervously, hiding his bare ring finger behind his back.

“Ventrexien courtings are actually different from humans,” Little Cato stated, which was true.

“I have to say,” she continued, ignoring him “Ventrexiens on earth is a rarity itself. You are one lucky man to be with him.”

“Hey, Hellen, could you uh, be quiet, you don’t seem like a nice person, and I don’t want to talk to you,” Gary said bluntly, catching Little Cato by surprise. “And when my boy talks to you? You acknowledge him. You’re just nervous because we’re going to kick your ass this time.”

Little Cato had never seen this side of Gary. He seemed so protective, it reminded him of his dad. They were both protective, but in two completely different ways.

She narrowed her gaze. “My sweet daughter and I have won every contest hosted since she attended middle school, but I do wish you the best of luck.” She smiled again. “If you want, you may have a try of one of our cookies.”

Gary glared at her, but reached forward nonetheless, and grabbed one of the cookies on display on her table. He took a bite, then another, then his eyes lit up like the stars. “Oh! Oh ho ho, these are amazing! They just melt in your mouth! I could buy five bags of these!” 

Little Cato’s ears tilted backwards, doing his best to hide the frown that began to form, disheartened that they’ve been thwarted once again by Hellen’s extraordinary baking. He would have to listen to her gloat and annoy his dad, hear her to drop casual insults directed at them and anyone else that was in her presence after school when she picked up her kids.

Gary dropped the cookie onto the table. “But our’s are still the best! You, my lovely lady, know nothing of the real art of the cookie! You used too much sugar, like that was the only flavour that mattered! Newsflash, it’s not just about the sugar, lady! You call yourself the best cookie baker, well, you’re wrong! Our chocolate chip cookies are made from the heart.”

She stared at him, shocked by his outburst, then, she shot a questioning, judgmental glance to their cookies. “Chocolate chip cookies?” A raise of the brow reflected her doubt. He could see a ghost of a smirk on her lips. Confidence. “You just might win, after all.”

“Thank you,” Gary said genuinely, and Little Cato sighed heavily, her sarcastic statement going right over his dad’s head.

In his own thoughts, he realized how easy it was to accept Gary as a father.

It felt nice.

The judges came to their tables. First, they tried Hellen’s cookies. They praised her and her daughter highly for their delicacy, saying how they’re always so delightful to eat. They seemed unsurprised that they would be the winner once again.

Then, they tried Little Cato and Gary’s cookies with furrowed brows that shot upwards in pure delight. They complemented how amazing they were and asked about the ingredients they used for such basic cookies. They said Gary did a good job, but then he cut them off.

“Are you kidding?” Gary chuckled, resting a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “He did basically all of the work, I just watched!”

The praise he received from the judges was phenomenal. Little Cato felt as though he were living in a fantasy.

Once they finished tasting every cookie, the judges tallied the results and announced the winner.

Little Cato won for his chocolate chip cookies.

They handed him a small trophy that had a cookie on it, offering him a “congratulations” at his win. Other participants clapped respectfully.

People started to leave the building soon after since the event was officially over.

Gary spun around and pointed to Hellen with a sly grin. “Oh, yeah! In your face, Hellen! In your face!” He pumped his fist and cheered. “Your reign of terror is over, we’re the awesome ones now!” He began to dance, shoving their win in her face with his constant gloating of “oh yeah,” and, “we’re the best!”

Her daughter almost looked happy from the loss.

Little Cato joined him in his strange dance. He had been waiting for this moment since he attended this school.

“High five me, Spidercat!”

Little Cato jumped up and high fived him, letting out a “whoop!”

“Why I never, so immature!” Hellen exclaimed with a huff, taking her daughter by the hand and storming out the door with her cookies in tow.

Hellen never bothered them the next morning.


	7. Mistakes

After having the Motel owners yell at him about rent being late for the third time, ultimately, Gary decided to move in with Avocato, the slight rift in their relationship aside.

Gary, well, barely had anything when he moved in. He had a couple pairs of clothes, some pajamas, and two small items of sentimental value. Aside from that, his suitcase held so little, that he was able to shove Mooncake inside for the trip to his new home.

So, when Gary walked in with only the suitcase, popping it open for Mooncake to float out and fly away to inspect their new home, he was genuinely surprised that Gary had nothing else.

It reminded him of when he first moved in with Little Cato.

Slowly, things mended between them after that, not in an ideal way, Gary never forgave him, not verbally, but they had set things behind them for the moment.

Gary often slept on the couch with Mooncake, feeling that sharing a bed still might be too soon for him, too soon after an argument, and too soon in the relationship. Avocato respected that.

He had to give the guy credit for being able to sleep through him brewing coffee in the morning, alongside Little Cato’s quiet chatter before they went to work and school respectively. They did try to keep it down for his sake though.

Sometimes Gary would be awake in the morning for his job, and on one of those days, he teased Avocato for having a hoard of #1 Dad mugs that Little Cato had generously gifted him over their years on Earth. Then, there was a morning where Gary had taken one of said mugs and claimed it as his own. He found that he did not mind, it was an opportunity to tease him in return.

Avocato would often come home and find Gary awake, watching something on the television, keeping Little Cato entertained, or cleaning the dishes. Sometimes he would be off at his own job.

Gary doesn’t ask when Avocato leaves without notice sometimes, working under Clarence meant that his times were usually at the last minute, not returning home for the day due to a shift of work and working with Clarence, or leaving during a weekend. He could tell that he wanted to ask, especially when Little Cato went with him. Gary had always been pushy and curious, and he knew that he would catch on eventually, he was smart when he paid attention to the finer details.

It was a few weeks after Gary moved in that Avocato came home one night, beaten from a sour day at work, to the smell of something burning. When he walked in, he saw that Gary had tried to make them all dinner with Little Cato’s assistance. The food may not have tasted like it was from the best restaurant in the sector, but Gary’s efforts made his entire week.

He kissed Gary sweetly that night, distracting him from putting away the food, leaning against him over the counter with a gentle caress of the cheek, and a parting of lips. His son gagged in protest.

He made it last to compensate for the delay of never doing it sooner.

It was their first kiss.

Oftentimes, Mooncake would float into Little Cato’s room while he was in there, interacting with his boy, napping on his lap or at the edge of his bed. He overheard Little Cato ranting to him on a few separate occasions while they listened and made noises of agreement. It was much like with Gary, who talked to Mooncake all the time like they were a real person, and over time, Avocato noticed how sentient they appeared to be.

Mooncake’s presence still set him on edge, even after they finally settled down into the apartment.

Settling down with Gary had been easy overall, but nothing was always easy.

Avocato sat at the table, scrolling through social media on a holographic device. Gary was seated on the couch, his legs sprawled out on the cushions with Mooncake on his lap, half asleep while he watched some movie at low volume on the television. He assumed Gary kept the movie quiet for Avocato, but he could still hear it clearly, his hearing more enhanced than a human’s.

They had just finished supper. It sat on the counter, getting cold.

His fingers tapped anxiously against the hologram. School ended over two hours ago. Little Cato did not come home. Avocato did not pick up his son today because he got off of work an hour ago, Gary had also been out until around the time he had finished making supper.

Gary assured him that he was probably just out with a friend.

“Hey, dad! Dad 2.0!” Little Cato greeted respectively, waving to his father and nodding to Gary as he stepped inside, hanging his coat and backpack by the door. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he apologized quickly, noticing Avocato’s disapproving look, “The gym teacher had me stay after school, and I kind of missed the bus, so I walked.”

“Why didn’t you text me?”

He could tell by how Little Cato avoided his gaze, that he was doing something he was not supposed to be doing. “I was kinda busy. I couldn’t get at my phone.”

He eyed him suspiciously, watching Little Cato’s form tense under his scrutinizing gaze. “What were you busy with?”

“Well, a funny thing about my teacher, is that he’s not just the gym teacher, he’s also the coach for the Thimble team. He wants me to join the team, dad. He says they need me.”

“How many times have we talked about this? I’ve already told you no, and you know exactly why,” frustration built from Little Cato’s constant, stubborn efforts.

“Well, maybe I don’t know,” he shot back just as stubbornly. Damn, stubborn, stubborn kid. “I think I can join the team.”

“Little Cato,” he warned.

“Maybe I’ll forge your signature just so I can join, then what? Just say yes so we can get it over with.”

“I said no!” he bellowed, slamming his fists down on the table, forgotten dishes from dinner clattering against the surface from the impact. Little Cato stared, eyes wide, momentarily stunned, ears flattened against the back of his head so far they disappeared.

“I hate you!” He screamed sharply, octaves louder than what Avocato conjured. It rang in his ears, silenced his fury to wash in grief.

Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, clouding his vision. 

He could see the immediate guilt on his son’s face, but that guilt formed to resolve before he spun around and stomped down the hall, hissing. A blur of green floated after him.

He hid the grief behind anger. “Go to your room, boy!”

“I’m already going! Oh, look, I’m already here!” The door slammed.

He stood, body rigid and tail fluffed, breathing unevenly. He put his face in his hands, letting out a shaky breath before wiping away the moisture in his eyes. He froze as he saw Gary in his peripheral vision, the forgotten member of the household in their argument.

Gary wrung his hands anxiously, foot unable to stop moving. Finally, he said, “Dude, don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh on the kid?”

“What? You’re taking his side?” Avocato’s tail twitched irritably. “He doesn’t understand-”

“I don’t really understand either,” Gary cut him off, standing from the couch and walking over to him. He reached down and took his hand that had balled into a fist at some point. With a gentle touch, his hand relaxed, and Gary held it. “He’s just a kid that wants to be on the Thimble team, bro. I think he’d be totally, awesomely, awesome at it. If his coach wants him, he’s gotta be the best of the best.”

“He is.”

“Then he should join.”

“Gary-” he wanted to protest, “you don’t understand.”

“Tell me so I can understand.”

Avocato’s eyes drifted to the dimly lit hall that lead to Little Cato’s room, only a few feet, but it felt a mile away. 

He pried his gaze away, looking back up to Gary. He squeezed his hand and let go, moving to sit down on the couch. “Let’s sit down, there’s a lot I need to tell you.”

Gary ungracefully flopped down next to him.

“If you call the Infinity Guard on me-“ he began, before he was cut off.

“Whoa, whoa, why would I do that,” Gary chuckled nervously, interrupting him.

“Just let me finish,” he paused, and with no reply, he continued, “I want you to take my boy and keep him safe. I don’t want him involved in any of it. Promise me that?”

“I-“ Gary laughed again in disbelief, “you’re making it sound like you’re secretly a serial killer or something.”

“You wanted to talk about it, so we’re talking about it.”

“I find it very disconcerting that you didn’t deny what I said,” Gary put in, raising a finger and pointing it at him with concern. “But,” then, shockingly enough, he smiled, “I want to hear what you’ve gotta say. I did kind of blow up a ton of ships, and god- that family restaurant, still feel guilty for that. Go ahead, man, you can tell me anything.”

Looking into Gary’s eyes, all he saw was honesty, and Avocato, with the thick layers of walls he built around himself, let them fall, for just a moment. He believed him. He trusted Gary.

He told him everything. He told him about the Lord Commander and who he was. He told him that he used to be his general, his right hand man. He talked about the orders he was given that destroyed countless lives, and his former title as the “Master of Death.” Then, he told him of the order that made him finally turn on his leader. To kill Little Cato. The Lord Commander had separated them after and threw his son into a prison.

To keep Little Cato alive, he had to follow every command given, even if it was something suicidal. His mission was to find E-351 and bring them back. Avocato had come close, but when he realized that he could use E-351 against the Lord Commander, he made a deal with them. They get his son back, and Avocato will never bother Mooncake again.

They managed to break him free, but not without consequence. Mooncake had separated from them before they ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere. Then, Clarence had found them. Knowing the ties between general and commander, an agreement had been made.

Clarence found them sanctuary, and Avocato worked for him to keep it.

“Earth is a lousy planet full of humans,” Clarence had told him. It would be the last place to look, really.

That is how he ended up here, in an apartment that had seen better days, working at a coffee shop in an overpopulated city.

Gary’s eyes were wide in shock. “Wow, okay, that is- a lot to take in. A lot. That past is dark, beyond dark, like if a black hole formed during midnight on a full moon, and just sucked the moon right up.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Gary. After everything I’ve done, I don’t deserve any of this.”

“Yeah, you fucked up pretty bad.” Avocato frowned in response, but then Gary said, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a better person now. You can’t go back and change the past, or really make up for what you did, you feel me? But you can do good now.”

“How?”

“Well, first off, I better see you donating to every single charity at the check-out, and tipping waitresses generously. Helping old ladies across the street, giving food to the homeless, petting every dog you see. You’ve got a lot of good deeds to make up for the bad, buddy.”

“Well, I do some of that.”

“Then your starting to be on the right track of being a good guy. Just make better choices now, you know?”

He nodded. Throughout his entire explanation, Gary had never leaned away, he always remained close for him to touch. He sighed, before saying, “there’s something else I want to tell you.”

Gary looked as though he was overflowing with information, barely able to digest everything from before, but he nodded for him to continue.

“Before, I was not a good father to my boy. He was always so rebellious, or maybe I was just stubborn. We always fought, and I neglected him when I worked for the Lord Commander. Even now, I feel like a bad parent.”

“Has he forgiven you since then?”

“He has, he’s told me I don’t have to worry about it, but-”

“Then I think that’s all you can do. You’re a good father for owning up to it. But- I still don’t get why Little Cato can’t be on the thimble team.”

“Because on Ventrexia Little Cato was in the elite junior championships. He’s one of the best of the best. That’s why. He’s too good. If he ends up on the national- or even worse- galactic news for his talents, Lord Commander could find us and kill us. Worse yet, he could get Mooncake, and that’s why I want them inside.”

“I don’t think it’d come to that. Middle school on earth doesn’t mean anything, trust me. He doesn’t have to be in the pictures or on the news anyways, right? And also, why would the Lord Commander be watching earth news, as far as I know, lots of aliens hate earth and could care less. I would know, I tried to pick up this alien chick once, and she called me an organ meat sack. It hurt.”

“Don’t worry, Gary, you may be an organ meat sack, but you’re my human,” he said with a smirk, teasing him to help the heavy weight of their conversation.

He chuckled. “Wow, thanks, fuzzy-paws,” he teased back.

They share a smile, Gary’s bright, Avocato’s small before it melted away. “You’re really okay with this?”

Gary scratched the back of his head. “I can’t say I’m cool with your life choices, man. Those are some big mistakes, big, I mean, extra large taco sized mistakes, and I mean the American size.” Gary leaned against him, head resting on his shoulder and linking their arms together. “But I love you, Avocato, even the ugly parts.”

He rested his chin on top of Gary’s head, nuzzling into his hair and letting out a heavy sigh.

“Listen,” Gary squeezed his hand, “I’ll go talk to Spidercat and see what I can do, okay? You sit out here, and just chill, have a popsicle. I’ll get him to come around.”

“Good luck. Really. Little Cato used to be my nemesis.”

As Gary stood up and disappeared down the hall to Little Cato’s room, a few moments later Mooncake came floating out to give them their privacy. He heard the door click shut, a soft sound unlike the harsh slam earlier. 

Mooncake settled down on the couch. As each minute ticked by, hesitantly, the creature inched closer, until they snuggled up against Avocato’s thigh.

He reached down to hesitantly pat them on the head, listening to the soft howls of the wind outside, and the muffled voices of his son and boyfriend. 

Mooncake’s eyes trained on something at the window, following a movement, but Avocato paid them no attention. “Chookity!” They cried out and suddenly flew to the open crack, squeezing their way through until the frame opened a little more for them to slip out. Avocato was unable to grab them in time as he rushed to the window.

“Mooncake, what the hell are you doing?!” He hissed. He ran out of the apartment and leapt down the stairs, jogging outside. The air was cooler than in the apartment. The sun had set, clouded grey skies hung above, after the fallen source of light, the sky and every surrounding object was cast in blue.

He ran around, frantically trying to find the planet destroyer that had just been set loose.

He skidded to a halt when he saw Mooncake across the street with something in their mouth. “Mooncake!” He called out again, running over to them. “You’re supposed to be inside.”

They whined sadly, muffled by the paper in their mouth, which was getting increasingly wet from where they bit down on it.

“What is that?” When Avocato held out a hand to grab it, Mooncake spit it out for him to hold.

He held up the paper and read it over, eyes widening in realization. “This is- this is Little Cato’s homework. If he doesn’t hand this in, he could fail.”

He watched their floating form skeptically. 

“Oh my gosh!” Avocato stiffened at the sudden voice. “What a cute alien dog thing!” A man came over, excited from just glancing at Mooncake. “Is that thing native to Ventrexia? May I pet it?”

Floored by the information that this person had no idea what Mooncake was, he stood in a heavy silence, until he forced himself to speak. “Uh, yes, go ahead. They’re a rare breed from my planet, a rescue. You know how they are.”

“Oh, you poor thing. At least you’re happy now, you little cutie.” He rubbed the top of Mooncake’s head. In response, they hugged his face and he laughed. “They’re just so sweet.”

He showered Mooncake with affection for a few more minutes, engaging in mundane conversation with Avocato before bidding him, and moreso, Mooncake, farewell. Avocato felt a weight leave his shoulders. Gary was right, people had no clue what Mooncake was, just that they’re a pet. For a moment, he wondered if he had been a little too paranoid after all.

“Mooncake?” They cooed sadly at his side and floated lower, eyes downcast, expecting a long-winded lecture from him. Instead, Avocato reached out and gently pet the top of his head. “Thank you.” 

They perked up with a smile.


	8. Gary: Become Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this chapter's pretty short, I'm sorry, so I'm giving you a double update!

Little Cato jumped into the car, and upon realizing that Gary had been here to pick him up after school instead of his father, he slammed the door and was prepared to complain. “Ugh, I can’t believe him!” 

Even though Gary’s words last night prevented him from doing anything stupid or rash, he still felt so frustrated.

“Still mad with dad?” Gary was leaned back, one arm over the back of his seat while he rested against the door. He wore a pair of shades, and by the slight hazy gaze he saw when Gary lifted them curiously, he could tell that he had been napping in the car while waiting for him.

“Yes! He’s so stubborn, I hate it.”

Little Cato let the rage fill his day, tail constantly flicking back and forth while he did equations and went on lunch break, especially when he had told his teacher that he could not join the team because his dad was such a paranoid buttface.

“You and your dad have that in common,” Gary noted. At Little Cato’s glare, he raised his hands. “Okay, maybe now is not a good time to compare you to your dad.”

The car went awkwardly silent, save for the air conditioner running on high to prevent the heat from coming in, and the sounds of other teenagers chatting and laughing outside.

“Your dad told me everything, you know,” Gary said suddenly. “I thought I should tell you, if he hasn’t. I’m all updated.”

“Everything?” Little Cato questioned, not really understanding what everything meant.

“Yeah, everything. That he was some kind of evil overlord’s sidekick bent on taking over the universe and causing chaos, and that Mooncake is kind of at the center of it all so we’ve gotta make sure that he doesn’t find them. That's easy though, nobody knows what they are,” he assured, likely to himself more than Little Cato, waving a hand dismissively.

“Are you okay?” Gary asked suddenly, leaning closer to him. “He told me about the prison thing, and the him almost killing you part. I mean, I know it was a while ago- sort of- but it can’t be easy.”

Little Cato sighed, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them.

“I wasn’t there for very long, I think, before they found me. It sucked a lot. Think of a human prison, then imagine it as ten times worse, and if it was in hell.”

“That’s rough.”

“You can only play hopscotch from claw marks on the ground for so long until you lose your sanity.” He shook his head. “If it hadn’t been for Mooncake saving me- saving us- I don’t think dad would’ve,” he trailed off. “They both saved me though, and they were really badass. My dad brought like ten guns and Mooncake’s got this cool laser they can shoot from their mouth. The Lord Commander was sooo mad, it was awesome.”

Gary was silent, paying attention to every word without making any remarks or comments.

Little Cato found himself speaking again, this time, the looming thought, the guilt, pent up for years spilling out with a tight frown and a whisper.

“One of the worst things though, is that part of me thought that he was actually going to do it- go through with that order- my dad- he had already done so much.” Little Cato looked away, unable to meet Gary’s gaze. “I never told him that.”

He wanted to talk about it, but he suddenly found himself unable to speak. The car felt too quiet, too small, as though it was trapping him in a whole new prison.

“Hey,” Gary’s hand gently rested on his shoulder, startling him before he met his gaze, “everything that happened was out of your control, so how about you and I forget about Avocato and evil alien overlords, and have a little one on one time? You and I, bonding time, the mall, McDonalds. Some, serious, serious fun. Okay?”

It was an out, offered by Gary, an opening to alter their conversation to something else, to distract him from the heavy topic at hand and leave it behind if he wanted.

After some moments of hesitation, his ears perked. “Serious fun?”

“I’m being so serious with this fun right now, it’s mandatory.”

“I can be serious.” He said with the most serious face he could muster, until he broke it with a laugh. “I’d love that, dad- I mean-” Little Cato stuttered embarrassingly. Sometimes he called Gary his dad, jokingly, or as a cover-up, like the Hellen situation, but this time, he meant it.

Gary removed his shades momentarily to look at him with surprise. “Do you really see me as another father?”

“Uh, yeah,” he admitted, reluctantly. “You’re the cool dad, unlike my other dad,” he laughed, “please don’t tell dad I said that.”

“Your secret’s safe with me. Pound it, small fry.” He held out a fist, and Little Cato fist bumped him. Gary smiled, but it was distant, as though thinking fondly of a forgotten memory. “Oh, and, Spidercat?”

“Yeah?”

“Call me pops.”


	9. Family Occasion

Little Cato started calling Gary “pops.” 

Avocato was uncertain of when it started happening, but he felt glad that he had gotten so comfortable with Gary’s presence. He had never seen his son look up to someone as another parental figure before, it really only made him fall harder for Gary. It felt right for him to be a part of their family.

Charming, kind, terrible with jokes. He was the most loyal being he had ever met. He was a mix of it all, and Avocato loved every part of him.

A blast went off just above his head, a giant rat-like creature falling to the ground beside him.

“You’re getting slow, old man,” Little Cato mimicked blowing smoke away from his blaster through his helmet and twirled it in his hand before putting it in the holster on his waist. He just knew his son was smirking, and Avocato quirked a brow at him.

“Really? Because there’s still a lot you need to learn.” He fired his own weapon behind Little Cato, another rat creature skidding to a halt on the ground before it could tear his son’s head off. He lightly flicked his boy on the forehead, earning an empty hiss directed at him “Never put your weapon away until you know the area is secure. This may be an asteroid, but some have life on them, like this one.”

“Oh, Avocato, dear. I hope you’re working on getting that rare gem we talked about. Father-son bonding can wait.” Clarence’s voice spoke over the intercom of their helmets. “Time is of the essence. I promised it would be delivered by tomorrow, which is in 15 hours on the plant my customer is from. Ta ta!” He quickly dropped the call.

He checked his surroundings and smirked, ignoring Clarence’s input. “Now it’s secure. Let’s get moving, the cave is just beyond this ridge.” Avocato took the lead.

“Oh yeah, we’re gonna get that gem!” Little Cato threw a fist in the air and followed after him. 

Avocato lead the way into the cave before pitch black met his eyes, even with his advanced sight compared to other beings, it was hard of visibility, until a soft green of bioluminescence lit their path. A fungus that grew on the walls and floor, changing colors the further into the cave they went. They were getting close.

Little Cato stopped to look around before noticing how far ahead Avocato had gotten and jogged to catch up to him.

Gravity became lighter, the atmosphere of the asteroid changing within the cave. Each step taken turned to a leap.

The cave expanded into a large, open area. Each surface of the area contained tunnels and pathways that lead in every direction, like a maze of tempt to get the user lost. He noted that the tunnels looked as though they were unnatural, dug into by something, but silence met his ears, no signs of danger within their proximity.

He looked upwards and faced a blue glow. Crystals at the top of the cavern lit the room, stacked over each other, grown in perfection, emitting light like a chandelier.

Avocato pulled up a visual image of the crystal they were looking for on his wrist. “This is it.”

“I’ve got this. I’ve so got this! Let me grab it!” Little Cato waited until he nodded before he moved ahead of him and launched himself into the air, extending a hand outwards. At low gravity, he would have been able to reach the crystals and break one free.

A low rumble filled the air, vibrations moving at his feet. Panic filled him before he even saw the oncoming threat.

A long, worm-like creature burst through one of the holes and shrieked at Little Cato, hissing in distress as he reached for a crystal. It lunged for him, mouth open and prepared to consume him.

“Dad!” He cried out in fear, helmet looking to the giant alien, voice filled with terror, frozen in place as he floated.

He leaped upwards and activated the thrusters on his boots, launching himself at Little Cato. He threw himself over him, clutching onto him as they flew by the beast. The thing barely missed them, sliding into another hole across the cavern and making its way around again.

They landed on the wall adjacent to where they jumped. The creature came again and they leapt in separate directions, Avocato moving to the floor, Little Cato grabbing onto a rock near the roof to stop moving. When it came around again, they fired their weapons.

Their blasters didn’t work against it.

He hissed in frustration as it fled into a cave again, watching Little Cato move towards the crystals. “What are you doing?!” He asked. 

“I have an idea!” He called back. “Distract it for a sec!”

When the creature came back, Avocato placed his trust in him, and called out to it, grabbing the attention of it by shouting and blasting it.

Little Cato called out then, grabbing onto the crystals above, and the thing swung around to see him. Touching the crystals made the creature furious. Little Cato shouted insults at it as he grabbed at a crystal and pulled it.

It barreled towards him with a shriek, but realized the mistake it made too late. Little Cato leapt out of the way. It tried to pull back, but it crashed headfirst into the crystals, the sharp objects hitting its head roughly. Blood oozed from places on its head as it slowly floated downwards, limp.

Little Cato came hurtling towards the ground from the momentum.

Leaping up to catch him in his arms again, they remained suspended in the air before their slow descent began. Many of the crystals had been knocked out of place, showering around them.

“Good job, son.”

“Now imagine saying that, but when I win a game of thimble.”

“You’re really bringing that up again? Isn’t it too late for thimble now? It’s summer break, isn’t it?”

Little Cato shook his head. “There’s a team that practices over the summer, and I can be a part of the official team when the break’s over. I’m good at the game, really, you’re letting the school down by not letting me join.”

“I know you’re good, that’s why I’m afraid,” Avocato confessed, “what if your team wins the championship, what if you end up in the news? You were one of the best players on Ventrexia. He could find us. I’m so scared of losing everything we’ve worked for, we’re finally happy.”

“You don’t think I’m scared too? I’ve been terrified since we got here, but we can’t live like this forever, in fear of everything. Besides, are we really happy when we’re hiding like this?” He held onto him a little tighter. “But really, who cares enough about middle school to record it on the news? Dad, please.”

“Gary said the same thing.” He chuckled then.

“He did?”

“Little Cato,” his helmet faced him and he could picture the surprised face underneath from using his name, “I’m proud of who you are.” He paused to take a breath, to shake away at the feelings of his next statement. “And I shouldn’t be holding you back from what makes you happy, from your dreams. Yes, you can join the thimble team.”

Little Cato hugged him so tightly Avocato saw stars in his eyes. 

He looked to the creature after. Whether the thing was unconscious or dead, Avocato would prefer not to stick around long enough to find out.

He noticed as he grabbed a crystal that it did not glow as vibrant as before. The creature was not trying to kill them because she was hungry, she was trying to kill them because she was protecting the crystals. She was willing to die for them.

“Those weren’t crystals, were they?” Avocato demanded in question once they were on the ship again.

“My, you really are too smart for your own good.” Clarence turned to face him.

“What are those eggs going to be used for?”

“You ask too many questions these days. You see, I don’t, because I enjoy being alive, and I enjoy getting money. Maybe they’re going to be made scrambled, not like I care. Do you?”

“No.” he looked out the window to the right of him.

Mid-summer on earth was high on the horizon, and Avocato felt only somewhat relieved to be on Clarence’s ship, for once, if only for a brief time. He was away from his apartment with the broken AC, and fans that blew hot air around like a blistering sandstorm. AVA always kept the Crimson Light at a decent temperature. It was warm, compensating for lifeforms without fur aboard the ship, but it was much more tolerable than the stuffy apartment.

All that was missing was Gary.

Earth came into view over the bridge’s window, blue and green surrounding each other, clouds forming storms of tornadoes and rain clouds that covered the surface. Momentarily, he felt distant from the universe.

“I don’t,” he assured himself.

The kids were off hanging out as they descended to earth.

“You know,” Clarence changed the subject with ease, voice dropping an octave, and Avocato, knowing what he was about to say, interrupted him.

“Clarence,” he started firmly, turning to face the small alien “you’re a bastard, and I’m not dating you. Besides, I have a boyfriend.”

“You do?” Clarence’s eyebrows shot up from beneath his goggles. 

“Yes.”

“A human?”

“A human.” Clarence was more surprised with that answer.

“I never saw you the type.” He hummed after the comment.

As they landed, Clarence had a final question. “Do you still live in that wretched apartment downtown?”

“Yes, why do you want to know?”

“Oh, no reason.” Clarence offered a smile that was anything but innocent.

Avocato lead his son off the ship, away from whatever Clarence may be planning.

A couple weeks blew over in a breeze that he wished would pass physically. The heat wave got worse. Multiple fans were scattered around the apartment, blowing hot air around with little help of alleviating the temperature.

Gary sat on the other side of the couch, no longer able to cuddle him because of how hot it was inside. His fur did him no favors. Gary huffed as he leaned directly in front of a fan on the coffee table, blond hair whipping back in every direction.

Mooncake had taken refuge in the sink, floating in the cold water Gary had filled for him.

They were suffering, but at least in the past couple weeks, nothing was able to trample on Little Cato’s mood. He immediately went to the coach after their discussion and attended thimble practice every few days.

There was a loud knock on the door then. Gary groaned in complaint, and was the one to stand up to answer it. However, the moment the door was unlocked for their mysterious visitor, it slammed open, smacking Gary in the face.

“Oh, Avocato!” An all too familiar voice of a short stubby alien rang, and not the super villain one, unfortunately.

Gary had taken a step back from the door, gingerly rubbing his face and wincing.

Avocato cursed under his breath and stood up. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Calm down, Avocato, dear,” he did his best to pacify him, sensing his irritation. “I’m only here to celebrate a human holiday with you and your,” he paused with an uncomfortably suggestive smirk, “lover.”

“What holiday?” Gary never told Avocato that there is a holiday today.

Clarence did the honor of inviting himself inside and walking over to the table. Fox and Ash followed, both of them content with being quiet while Clarence was blissfully unaware of Gary’s clear desire to throw him out their open window.

Ash peeked curiously down the hall for Little Cato.

“Yes, it is the human holiday of thanks, is it not? A holiday similar to my own, might I add, but not as pleasant.” Clarence looked up to Gary, adjusting the goggles on his face with one hand, and giving him an inquisitive look. “What a strange human mate you have, Avocato. Really, I wasn’t expecting this, I never saw you as the type to even consider a human. Besides the fact that he’s ugly and weird. Not nearly as attractive as me.”

“What- what are you talking about- wait- are you talking about Thanksgiving?!” Frustration was written over Gary’s face. Avocato did not reflect his boyfriend’s emotion, but he felt it deep down. “Who are you, I hate you?!”

“Ah, yes, that’s the one. I think. My name’s Clarence. I am a good friend of your mate’s.”

“Wait,  _ you’re  _ Clarence?”

“In the flesh.”

“I was expecting someone,” he hesitated, “taller.”

“I’m tall where it counts.”

“I did  _ not _ need to know that.” Gary rubbed both hands on his face and groaned. “It’s the middle of August, thanksgiving is months away.”

“Well, then, consider it a family occasion!” Clarence flourished, grinning deviously up at them. “Now, where’s your boy?”

“Right here, you guys are loud enough to disturb the entire apartment.” Little Cato said casually as he stepped into the kitchen. His face lit up at the sight of his friends. “Ash! Fox!” He ran over to them, leaping into Ash’s arms.

“Little Cato!” Fox exclaimed, “com’re, you little loser.” he bent over to pull them into a group hug.

“Why are you guys here?” his son asked.

“Family occasion,” Ash replied.

“I’ll get dinner ready,” Avocato said with resignation.

Fox challenged Little Cato to a game of some sort, and demanded Ash to be the judge. Little Cato accepted the challenge, and all three of them ran to his room.

That left Gary and Mooncake to sit at the table with Clarence. They argued for a while. Well, it was more Clarence pushing every button that Gary had until Gary gave up in frustration and joined Avocato, helping him cook dinner.

It was mainly fish, because that was really the only thing he had enough of to make for six people, along with various other foods that helped accommodate everyone's specific diet.

Clarence graciously decided to help by setting up the table and calling out the kids that supper was ready, but not without making them thank him in some way afterwards.

The apartment was never meant to hold this many people. There were four chairs, and the table was meant to only fit four people as well. Little Cato had grabbed his desk chair from his room, as well as Avocato’s from his own to accommodate for the two extra at the table.

Clarence may have been a pain, but he was being semi-decent company compared to other days, and their kids seemed to be having a great time.

Little Cato, Ash, and Fox did most of the talking while Gary and Clarence tolerated each other.

“Hey, Spidercat,” he was surprised Gary said something during his one-sided glaring contest with Clarence, “did you tell Ash and Fox about thimble?”

“Oh right, thanks pops!” Little Cato perked up, looking at his friends. “Dad finally said I could join the thimble team, isn’t that awesome!”

“Pops?” Clarence eyed Avocato questioningly.

He decided not to give him an answer.

“I always thought your dad was a dick for saying no,” Ash said.

“I’m sitting right here.”

“I know.”

“Oof, burn,” Gary coughed, trying not to laugh.

He glared at him, but there was no hostility behind it.

“Someday, I’ll beat you at that game,” Fox said with certainty, shaking a fist at Little Cato.

“If that day ever happened, I would eat the dirt at your feet, but that day won’t come, because I’m that awesome,” he said confidently, crossing his arms, earning a dissatisfied grunt from Fox.

The conversation ended there as everyone focused on eating, and when supper was finished, the kids retreated back to Little Cato’s room for awhile while Avocato put the dishes away.

Night finally fell, alleviating the heat, and blowing away some of the tension within the home. Avocato had prepared popcorn for everyone since Gary convinced them all to watch a movie together. 

Little Cato, Ash, and Fox sat on the ground, blankets splayed out around them and on their laps. Little Cato’s teal hair was braided and neatly hanging from his head. Parts of Ash’s hair was braided as well, and they all had their nails painted. They must have gotten into Little Cato’s stash of polish.

Clarence sat on one side of the couch, while Gary was on the other with a blanket and Mooncake on his lap. Avocato placed the large bowl of popcorn at the center of the coffee table and sat down next to Gary. He leaned closer, but then Clarence scooched over and sat on Gary’s lap, casting Mooncake to the side, who made a “bok!” of Protest before floating over and nestling themself next to Little Cato.

He scrutinized Gary, reaching up to touch some of his hair. “Ah, yes, I see it now. You have a type, Avocato, more on the blonde side.”

Gary lifted Clarence then and placed him on the other side of Avocato.

“Do not touch my beautiful blond locks without asking for consent first,” he hissed through a whisper.

“Well, I-” before Clarence could say anything, he was cut off by Ash.

“Just shut up and watch the movie!”

“Yeah,” Little Cato agreed, “some of us are actually trying to enjoy it.”

“Be respectful of other people watching,” Fox added.

They watched the movie in relative silence. Sometimes, mainly Clarence or Fox (and Gary once), would talk over the movie in complaint when the protagonist did something stupid. He saw Ash nodding off at a couple of points, but her brother would nudge her awake again. 

Once the movie was over, Clarence had bid them farewell. Ash and Fox hugged Little Cato again, uncertain of the next time they would see him before they all left.

Eventually, Little Cato went to bed.

Mooncake was fast asleep on the edge of the couch.

Once peace and quiet befell the apartment, Avocato sat down on the couch with a sigh, inviting himself to lean against Gary, and with no protest this time, he snuggled closer. Gary wound his arms around him in return and they shared a kiss.

The day had been a disaster, but in the end, the weird family occasion had turned out to be a success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a really hard time writing this chapter for some reason, so I hope it holds up okay!


	10. Little Cato's Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back! And with another double update for everyone, thank you for your patience! c:

Gary climbed the stairs to his home.

Home, it felt amazing to think of it as his home. A place he could curl up and sleep comfortably whenever he wanted. A home filled with people that loved and cared about him. 

Mooncake would always greet him when he got inside, hug his face, and chirp happily. Then, he would walk over to Avocato and kiss him sweetly, as though they had been separated for far too long. Afterwards, he would find Little Cato and chat up a storm with him, about school or the most recent game he played, or other activities he was doing.

Today, said routine did not ensue. Instead, Gary found himself staring down quizzically at a water soaker resting against the entrance of the door to their apartment, with a large note taped above it that said, “good luck.”

He had no idea what the crap it was supposed to mean.

He picked up the water soaker and turned it in his hands, observing the black and orange finish. It looked kind of like a shotgun.

Huh. “What-what am I supposed to do with this thing?” He looked to the note and tried to understand it all. Was this a threat of some kind?

Gary shrugged before opening the door and strolling inside. He cried out as he slipped, catching himself on the table, water soaker clanking loudly against the hard surface. He tried to stand straight again, feet wobbling like a doe’s as he tried to gain his footing on the slippery floor.

Who just leaves a mysterious wet substance on the ground like that? 

The house was dead silent. No Mooncake chirping happily at his presence, no Avocato to kiss or Little Cato to talk with.

Huh, maybe they’re in their rooms? Right? This was totally not weird or abnormal.

“Uh, Avocato, babe-bro-cakes? Spidercat? Hellooo!” He called out. “Anybody home?!” Gary was suddenly overcome with the strangest sensation that someone was watching him. He chuckled nervously. This was weird, very weird. Should he be worried? He was getting worried.

“Get down!” Little Cato appeared out of nowhere and suddenly tackled Gary to the ground in front of the couch, a large spray of water just missing him and knocking over a small box on the bookshelf.

Avocato’s laughter, borderline maniacal, filled the air.

“Did he get you?!” He demanded, feeling the back of Gary’s jacket before letting out a sigh of relief. “Good, you’re still in the game.”

“Game? What game- you guys are playing a game?” At Little Cato’s nod, Gary “ooh”ed. “You guys are having a water battle in the apartment?”

Little Cato nodded again. “And if you get a single drop on you, you’re out. Technically, we’re supposed to be against each other, but-”

“My boy,” Avocato’s voice carried throughout the apartment, “why don’t you come out and make this easier, you know I’m going to win.” It was actually kind of scary. Gary could not see him anywhere as he peered over the couch. Little Cato yanked him back down before another burst of water shot where his head once was.

“Holy crap, what is he, some kind of assassin?”

“He takes our water battles very seriously, and he always wins. In this game, he shows me no mercy. That’s why I think we should team up! I think together we could beat him.”

He thought for a moment, before nodding in determination, pumping his water soaker. “Let’s do it, Spidercat.”

Little Cato grinned then, and shouted to his dad, “no, you’re the one getting soaked this time! I’m teaming up with Gary and we’re taking you down!”

“Two against one?” His laugh echoed like an evil genius’ would in a lair. “Those odds sound even. I’ll allow it.”

They were cautious as they looked over the couch, checking every direction before another burst of water came, barely missing Little Cato’s whiskers.

“The hallway,” Little Cato nodded towards the area he saw Avocato, “on the count of three, double tag, we lure him out, he can’t get both of us at once.”

He nodded in response. Little Cato counted down with his fingers before Gary rounded the couch, spraying blindly in the direction of the hall, luring their enemy out. Avocato ran into the kitchen, evading his blast. Little Cato jumped over the top of the couch, water soaker aimed at him as he hurdled the furniture and sprayed.

Avocato was directly in his line of fire, but at the last moment, he lifted a baking tray from the counter and blocked the blow.

“Cheater!” He spat.

“All’s fair in war, son.” He aimed the gun at him with a smile. He fired at him. Little Cato flinched, raising his hands to cover his face from the onslaught of water, but it never came.

“Oh no, I’ve been hit!” Gary shouted dramatically, jumping in front of him to take the blow, shirt and hair soaked with water, falling to the ground on his stomach. 

“Pops, no!” Little Cato cried, rushing to his side and rolling him onto his back. He rested his head on his lap, playing along with the act.

“Little Cato,” he coughed for dramatic effect, reaching up a shaky hand to pat his head and offer him his water soaker with the other. “Avenge me.”

Little Cato narrowed his eyes, and raised his own and Gary’s water soaker to point them at Avocato.

“You wouldn’t shoot your own father, would you?” Avocato challenged with a sneer. “Give it up,” he pointed the water soaker directly at him. “I win, even two against one,” he smirked confidently.

Little Cato’s ears tilted back, a tear forming in his eye as his lips quivered. It made Avocato hesitate for a fraction of a second.

“Now Mooncake!” Little Cato shouted, catching him off guard.

“Chookiity, pok!” They mocked a battle cry, balancing a large bucket on their head filled to the brim with water.

Mooncake tipped the bucket. The water came crashing down over Avocato, drenching his fur and clothing upon impact. His hiss had been drowned out by the water pouring over him. Then, the bucket tipped and fell on top of him.

Little Cato burst out with laughter, and Gary covered his mouth, trying desperately not to laugh in his “dead” state.

Avocato threw the bucket off with wide eyes and shivered. “Holy hell, that’s cold!”

Gary finally joined their son’s uncontrolled laughter as Avocato shook himself, much like a soaked dog would, all efforts to get himself dry in vain.

“Ha!” Little Cato stood and pointed at Avocato. “In your face! I’m the champion this time! Oh yeah, oh yeah! Who’s the best Cato now!” He cheered.

Avocato looked miserable and wet, until a smile formed with a low chuckle. “You’re getting too smart, boy.”

Gary sat up and gave Little Cato a high five. “Hell yeah, we won!”

Avocato approached them, and Gary felt uncertain about that smile turning devious. “You both did so well. I just want to congratulate you guys with a hug.”

“Dad, no!” Before Little Cato could jump away, he already had his son in a vice grip and snatched Gary by the shirt. He pulled them both into a bear hug. Gary immediately felt the water soak his already wet shirt, grunting as Avocato pressed his soaked muzzle into the crook of his neck and nuzzling his exposed skin. He shivered from the cold as Little Cato whined. Gary witnessed the kid’s fur getting wet from the hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by some vague Tumblr post I saw like 5 years ago


	11. Broken Facades

Summer was finally over, and fall was prominent as the leaves changed to vibrant colors of yellow and red.

Little Cato had his first few thimble matches, and each time he played, Gary and Avocato were the loudest ones cheering him on, thoroughly embarrassing him as he played. He was a really good player, which came as no surprise. Being a part of the team earned him some cool points within the school. Little Cato had made a few more friends within the team, and suddenly, he was out a decent amount of the time, hanging out with new friends.

Such as tonight. One of Little Cato’s new friends invited him to stay the night at their house, which meant that for the first time, Avocato and Gary would be alone together. Well, almost. Mooncake was always lurking around the home.

“Okay, I’ve got everything. My friend’s outside with his mom waiting for me.” Little Cato adjusted the bag over his shoulder while he slipped on his shoes, all while clumsily texting on his phone to said friend.

Avocato was at Little Cato’s side before he could make a quick getaway. “Do you have everything?”

“Yes,” he rolled his eyes, “of course, and don’t worry, I’m bringing my phone. I remember our secret code if something goes wrong.”

Appeased by his answer, Avocato smiled and tousled the neon fur at the top of his head, ignoring his complaint of “messing my hair up again.”

“Be careful,” Gary said as he approached the door and stood next to him.

“No promises,” he replied with a cheeky grin before slipping out the door, finger still tapping on the screen as he texted.

After Little Cato left, Gary turned to him with a mischievous grin. “So,” he stretched out the last syllable until Avocato spoke.

“So?”

“Since we’re alone, you wanna make out?”

“With you? Yes, definitely.” he smiled over at Gary.

“Oh, hell yeah, up top, Brovacato!”

He reached up to Gary’s offered hand and high-fived him with a laugh.

Little Cato’s groan cut through as though there were no door between them. “I can still hear you! Gross, by the way.”

Gary looked to the door, acting as though Little Cato could still see him. “What are you still doing here? Can’t you see the adults are talking?”

“See? No, I don’t even want to hear it. I’m leaving!” Little Cato shouted, accompanied by the loud thuds of his footsteps as he ran away from the door.

Now that Little Cato was officially gone, Gary stepped closer to Avocato, face close enough for him to feel his breath against his fur. “Of course, we’re gonna have a little fun before we get to the good stuff,” Gary’s voice went low and husky-like, nearly making him shiver.

Avocato smirked, his own voice dropping, “and what type of fun would that be?”

Three hours went by and Avocato glared at Gary over the coffee table in the living room. When Gary spoke about fun, he was expecting something more- suggestive. Not a long, agonizing game of strip poker, where Gary lost most rounds, and relieved himself of his socks and everything else before getting to his pants or his shirt.

Avocato managed to get him down to his boxers while he was still fully dressed.

“You’re losing on purpose, aren’t you?” He finally stated, peeking over the cards in his hand with an accusatory stare.

“Well, I thought I’d give you a show,” he winked. “But not this time. Take that, loser!” Gary slapped his hand down on the coffee table. A royal flush. Avocato dropped his cards on the table in defeat and reached for his sock. “No, lose the shirt or the pants! I won’t accept anything else.”

He pushed back his desire to protest that Gary took a hell of a time to get to the undressed state he was currently in. Instead, he grabbed the neck of his shirt and tugged upwards, pulling it over his head and tossing it over by Gary’s discarded clothing.

Silence fell over the room, and he felt Gary’s eyes wander over his exposed form, eyes widening with wonder. “Oh my crap.”

“What?” He felt a little self conscious of how Gary stared at him.

“You have-” his voice was filled with emotion, “you have a large heart on your chest.” He reached over the table, fingers threading through the marking. “Oh my god, that’s the cutest thing I’ve seen in my life, and I’ve met Little Cato. How could you hide this gem from me?”

He felt his cheeks heat up madly from the comment, breath hitching at the touch. Gary’s hand wandered over his chest, smiling warmly at the marking, body half splayed out on the table to reach him. He relaxed into the feeling, comfortable with Gary just touching him.

He cupped his cheek gently, pulling his fixation away from the mark, bright eyes meeting his own

He loved seeing Gary smile, he loved how his eyes crinkled upwards from his blinding grins, he loved it when he talked about every crucial detail of his day or whatever he was rambling about. He loved his fingers threading through his fur, both hands on his chest, moving upwards to wrap around his shoulders, crossing over the coffee table to reach him.

The cards scattered everywhere. Avocato was uncertain of when they started kissing, but his body had naturally fallen into it, melting into Gary’s hold.

Gary started saying everything that came to mind, talking about how much he loved him and going into excruciating detail about other awkward make-out moments in his life, naturally. Avocato did not stop him, instead, he moved to kiss him on the cheek and down his neck, laughing with him as he made a joke.

He felt so happy with Gary. He never wanted this moment with him to end.

He rested his forehead against his. “I love you,” he whispered like a shared secret between them.

Avocato’s thumb traced over one of the incision scars on Gary’s chest.

He tensed momentarily, but then he pulled Avocato in for another kiss, this time much deeper, much more passionate.

“Hey, babe,” Avocato mumbled. At Gary’s hum of acknowledgement, he said, “how about we take this to the bedroom?”

* * *

He was not sure when he had fallen asleep.

The nightmare was relentless, but by the time he had awoken it faded to darkness. All that was left was paranoia and fear as his eyes shot open.

“Whoa, hey,” there was a hand on him and he tensed from the touch.

Avocato’s fingers curled around the figure’s wrist, claws protruding and poking into the flesh, glaring deeply at the person that dared to invade his home. He hissed lowly. 

“Wow, okay- uh- this is a little alarming, I’m starting to get pretty worried about you.”

Registering that he was in no danger, and that Gary was on top of him, eyeing him with heavy concern despite the claws threatening to draw blood. “Gary, you-“

“Okay, let me fill you in, you seem pretty out of it right now. Little Cato’s at a friend’s house. I’m sleeping in your room because we kind of had sex last night and you passed out while we were watching romcoms on your holovid. It’s currently six in the morning.”

He allowed the information to soak in, and slowly, he nodded, letting him go.

“Hey.” Gary’s elbows rested above his shoulders as he laid on top of him. His eyes met his, head lowered so that his blond hair gently brushed against the tips of his ears. Gary’s concern felt overwhelming. “Are you okay? Like, really, sometimes you’re really chill, and then other times you’re like- really paranoid. You’re like a grand clock, you know, with the swinging back and forth part?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured him. “Fuck, I’m really sorry, man. It won't happen again, I promise.” He wondered if he had ruined the trust built between them, but then Gary surprised him again.

“Avocato, relationships go both ways, you know? It’s like we’re walking along a highway together- hitch hiking- or whatever, and we’re walking for days, or even years, and during that time we’ve gotta work together the entire way. We both want to hitchhike together, so we’ve gotta make it work, you know, and talk it through.” He lightly pressed a hand on Avocato’s chest, over his marking. “What I’m saying is, you can always talk to me, bud. Even not as a partner, but as your best friend, because we’re supposed to be there for each other. I know you’ve got a lot going on in that fuzzy brain of your’s.”

“I know I’m rambling again!” Gary continued nervously, and Avocato could barely hide the smile curling at his lips. “But I also want to say that you don’t have to talk too, but I want you to know, that I’m here for you.”

“Gary,” he lightly ran his fingers over his cheek and through his hair, “thank you. I just want to lay here- with you. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is.” He smiled and settled down next to him. Avocato pulled him closer, Gary tucked his head under his chin, and he nuzzled into his messy blond hair, taking in his scent of cheap deodorant and way too much scented shampoo, but it smelled like Gary, his Gary.

“Thank you,” he held him just a little tighter.

He was about to drift into sleep again when Gary yelled, “oh crap!” Right into his ear.

“Ow, what the hell, Gary?” He grumbled.

“So, uh, quick statement before you sleep again. You know last week, right, how I hung out with Quinn?”

He waited until Avocato said, “right,” for him to continue.

“Well,” he chuckled, “the funny thing is, Quinn may have invited me and my family, which she meant you guys, because she really wants to meet you, to go to this really fancy Infinity Guard party with her. Actually, that’s a lie. It’s just a party between like a bunch of pilots, Tribore, and Quinn. Nothing big, but we still have to dress fancy. She really specified that to me so I could remember, which I didn’t. And I may have totally completely one-hundred-percent forgot about the party let alone to tell you and Little Cato until right this second or technically a few seconds ago.”

“Wait, wait, so when’s the party?”

“Tonight at seven.”

“That’s very soon. I have to check my schedule.”

“You don’t work, I already checked it, and Little Cato doesn’t have practice.”

“Then we’re set.” He pressed a chaste kiss to Gary’s lips. “But are you sure that either of us should be near the Infinity Guard?”

“It’ll be fine, it’s not the big guys, just some pilots,” Gary assured him with a smile.

Part of him wanted to fall into the pit of worry he always felt, but this was just earth, everything would be fine, right?

* * *

Once nightfall came, getting into suits themselves was easy enough. Gary wore a nice red suit while Avocato wore a matching one that was blue.

Maybe he put on a bit of a show to have Gary help him with his tie, since he was so good at doing it, he wanted his own to look as good as Gary’s. He also may have continuously flirted with Gary as they got ready because he looked really good in a tux, especially with the casual messy hair he had. Little Cato was certain to verbalize his displeasure of their constant flirting.

Which brought them to the hard part, Little Cato. His son was not a fan of dressing up nice, which left the clothing options slim to none. Avocato had sat on the bed next to Little Cato in his bedroom while Gary sifted through his son’s closet, suggesting various outfits to them. Little Cato disagreed with them all. Eventually, he picked out the top of a dark blue tux he wore to a dance once, and a light blue skirt that matched with it pretty well. He wore a light blue bow on the tux as well to bring the look together.

He had brushed Little Cato’s hair while he complained that he could do it himself, but he told his son that he could get any of the knots he might miss. He flattened the mohawk down, until Little Cato snuck away at one point to gel his hair back up. He gave up on it afterwards.

They arrived at the party a few minutes early. Gary said they could show up at any time, but Avocato wanted to leave a good impression.

As they approached the large building outside, Gary was no longer at his side, but running up to the entrance, calling out to someone. He picked the person up and twirled them around before dropping them on the ground again, faint laughter spilling between them.

As he got closer, he noticed the human woman he chatted with. She looked over at him and offered a polite smile. Gary was suddenly at his side again, taking his hands in his own. The physical display spread a warmth in him. “Quinn, this is my super awesome boyfriend Avocato, and this is our boy- I mean his-”

“Our,” he assured him.

“Our boy! Little Cato. Guys, this is Quinn. She’s really cool, a badass.”

Little Cato made a grand gesture, bowing to Quinn and taking her hand. “It’s my pleasure.” 

She laughed.

Quinn really did look beautiful. Her hair was styled in a bit of an afro, tied back into pigtails. She wore a blue dress that reached her ankles along with silver jewelry around her neck and wrist. Avocato could understand why Gary became so infatuated with her.

After Little Cato pulled away she extended her hand to Avocato and he shook it firmly. “It’s nice to finally meet you guys,” she smiled, “I’ve heard so much about you two. More than I should.”

He gave Gary an inquisitive look, to which he replied with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

“Come on, the party’s just starting, I’ve got a table for us already.” She led them all inside, and Avocato was nearly awestruck by the building's interior. White walls with golden framed pictures and art drawn on the ceiling. The place gave off the vibes of a ballroom, a place only the rich and wealthy may enter. Calming music played on the front stage.

“I thought this was more of a casual party,” he whispered to Gary. “Isn’t this a bit much?”

“It is- just kind of a thing between friends and family. It’s the Infinity Guard, I guess they think this is what a party is?”

Little Cato delicately touched a vase of what appeared to be pure gold. “I haven’t touched anything this fancy since I was ten,” he whispered in wonder.

Quinn waved to someone in the distance, and they gestured them over to the table. Gary hugged them before everyone sat down. They wore what appeared to be a red dress, but when they moved, the dress split down the middle and looked as though they were wearing pants. They also wore a crimson scarf along with golden earrings.

“This is Tribore, he-” Quinn started, but was cut off by them.

“She, right now, hun,” she corrected her.

“She’s my best friend.”

“And a good friend of Gary’s,” Tribore added. “Are these two the ones? The elusive boyfriend and his spider-like child?” Avocato’s claws lightly dug into his clothing at Tribore’s stare. All six of his eyes never left his form, and he could sense the lingering wariness under the stare.

“Yep, they’re the ones! This is Avocato, and our boy, Little Cato.” He grinned, happy to call Little Cato his boy as though he were his own.

“Gary,” Tribore began slowly, “are you sure this is Avocato? The Avocato? The boyfriend Avocato?”

He could feel the fur on his back raise a little.

“Yeees?” He gave Tribore a questioning look. “I’ve been living with him for awhile now, I think he would’ve corrected me by now, right?” He looked to him for clarification.

“Yes, my name is Avocato, is there a problem with that?” His eyes narrowed over at Tribore with suspicion. Part of him wanted to take Gary’s hand and leave the party.

Did she know?

Quinn looked to Gary, sharing his confused look.

Suddenly, Tribore blinked and chuckled. “Oh, no, not at all, honey. Your handsome face looked more like a “Strawpurry,” or maybe a “Cataloupe,” maybe even “Greg,” but Avocato doesn’t fit the picture that well, it’s boring. It doesn’t do you justice.”

“Uhh, thanks?” Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?

They talked at the table for a while, Quinn telling them about her work under the Infinity Guard, Gary talking about the exciting things they have done, and Tribore putting in her own opinions about the conversation and her day-to-day life as of currently. Little Cato looked as though he may pass out from boredom, until Gary brought him into the conversation and kept him engaged.

Eventually, Avocato stood and excused himself to the washroom.

He was at the sink washing his hands when he saw Tribore in the reflection of the mirror. “What the hell are you doing in here?!” He cried out in surprise.

Tribore stepped into the washroom, resting a hand on her hip and nodding to him, “I should be asking you the same question, pal. Why are you here? What are you planning? What does Gary have to do with this? If you’re just toying with his sweet, innocent heart for your own gain, I won’t hesitate to end you and that hideous excuse of a tux.”

“Planning?” He spun around to face her. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Cut the crap, I know who you are, I just don't know why you’re here and not licking the Lord Commander’s little booties like you should be.”

He was glad he was not human, or else his face would have paled exponentially. “Who’s the Lord Commander? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he decided to bluff, hide the truth away beneath the ashes of his past.

“You seriously didn’t even hide your name, I know you’re lying. Now, I’m going to ask you again, and I sure hope you have an answer for me, mister.”

“I don’t know,” he hissed out firmly.

“Really?” Tribore suddenly threw a fist at him, and Avocato barely managed to catch it in time before it connected with his face, jumping away from her as she swept her feet under him. “Ha! Then how would you know to block that?”

“Ventrexiens are a militaristic race, we’re taught to fight from a young age,” he defended.

“I don’t believe you, why would I believe you? I’m Tribore, the leader of the resistance fighting against the Lord Commander, a beacon of hope for this universe, of course I know who you are, you’re his general, how do I know? I’m that good at resisting.”

That- did not make sense, but Avocato had no time to reply as Tribore swung at him again.

He was backed in a corner in the middle of a battle he was reluctant to fight. He went on the evasive, dogging and blocking, resisting the urge to fight back. She was advanced in hand-to-hand combat. Avocato had not met such an adversary in a long time. Part of him wanted to blame the fact that he was rusty, but he knew she was a good opponent regardless.

He hissed furiously as she grabbed him and shoved his head into the sink, the sensors picking up and spraying water all over his head. She spun him around after and yanked his arm backwards before pinning him to the ground.

“Tell me your plans!” She demanded, sitting on top of him, holding his arms behind him with her knees and repeatedly tugging at his tail.

“Augh,” he hissed, “stop!”

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing with Gare and what the Lord Commander’s plans are on earth.”

“There are no plans, you idiot!” He spat. “Whatever information you have is out of date. I’m not his general anymore,” he growled lowly.

“So you are the real Avocato.” She gasped. “And why should I believe you, you’re the bad guy.”

“Think about it, I haven’t been with the Lord Commander for over two years. He wants me dead as much as he wants you dead, trust me. Let’s just say I didn’t follow his orders, and he didn’t like it. I’m not his tool anymore. And why would I, a general, be doing some undercover mission? My cover could be blown, such as right now,” he stated, before mumbling, “I knew this party was a bad idea.”

Tribore hesitated before she stood up and offered a hand to help him up. He accepted it, reluctantly. She took off the scarf around her neck and started dabbing away the water soaking his fur. He tensed at the physical touch, but she did not pull away, insisting on getting him dry.

“So you’re not manipulating Gary or controlling his mind, or doing some kind of weird sorcery power on him?”

“No, I love Gary, is it that hard to believe?”

“No- wait- yes.”

Avocato sighed, before saying, “I have intel, it’s outdated, but I have lots of it. I can send you every digital copy I have left of my time spent working under him and layouts I recall of Tera Con Prime. I have a personal notebook I wrote in during my years under him. I will give all of it to you. Will that make you believe me?”

“Oh, yes, now that would be some juicy information to have.”

“It’s the least I could do.”

“You should consider joining the resistance. We need a bad-guy-gone-good like you on our team, it would be a perfect addition. Resist with me and we can overthrow all evil tyranny.”

“I can’t.”

Tribore looked as though he insulted her grandmother. “Why not? Are you really saying no to me right now?”

“I need to be on earth. I’ve already messed up so much as a father. I need to be here for my son, and I can’t just abandon Gary.”

Tribore was silent for a long time before she finally nodded. “This sounds weirdly important to you. Fine, you raise that boy, and you be with Gary. We can make other plans because we could use a general like you. I bet you’re really good at planning and strategizing.”

“That was one of my key jobs.”

“Good, then you can run over plans with us.”

“But I thought-“

“Does every Saturday work for you? Doesn’t matter. I’m coming,” without waiting for a reply, Tribore continued, “clear your schedule, I will be over to discuss plans every week. No need to leave home, you can stay in your cozy pajamas and feed your child, kiss Gary or whatever humans do, we can plan ahead in comfort and style.”

Avocato opened his mouth to protest, but he was cut off yet again.

“Spare no words, Avocato. Welcome to the resistance.” Tribore grabbed his hand and shook it.

He heard a soft chuckle, and saw Little Cato at the door. “How long have you been standing there?” He asked.

“Long enough.” He wandered over, standing beside Avocato, tail slowly curling around his ankle. “I think this is what you need, dad. I bet it’ll help you. Helping fight the Lord Commander would mean that you would be saving lives.”

“But I’ve already taken so many, it wouldn’t help them.” The guilt ate away at the statement, but his expression remained firm.

“You can’t bring those people back,” Little Cato said, “but you can save so many lives by doing this. I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say that I would love to see the Lord Commander dead.”

“So it's agreed then?” Tribore eyed Avocato curiously.

He hesitated, but finally gave a confident answer, “yes. I’ll clear my schedule for Saturday.”

All three of them returned to their table, which had been empty. Avocato noticed Gary off dancing with Quinn as the music played a faster melody.

Eventually, they returned to the table with them as an announcer arrived on the stage.

They talked about the Infinity Guard, and their efforts to protect the earth, all of the good lives lost. They mentioned John Goodspeed and talked about honoring him, how he had been a hero and his sacrifice was not for nothing, that everyone should follow in his footsteps.

Gary’s face slowly fell, showing something much more raw, more real than he had seen before. He frowned, his eyes grew moist as the announcer talked about how great of a man John was.

_Goodspeed._

John Goodspeed. Gary Goodspeed. John was Gary’s father.

Avocato’s eyes widened, and he wondered how often Gary hid behind a facade of happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is another one I kind of struggled with, but I made it work I think.
> 
> One more chapter to go!


	12. The Real Gary

Gary emerged from the hall, hair messy and eyes tired as he yawned loudly, having just woken up in their now shared bedroom. Avocato smiled at the sight of him, greeting him with a soft, “hey.” 

He blinked away the bleariness in his eyes, surveying the kitchen as it came to focus, looking between Quinn, Tribore, and Avocato, before staring at the large holographic display in the middle of the kitchen table they all sat at. The lights were dimmed so the details on the map glowed in strong blue hues. Plans and ships were open on the display.

“Heeey guys, you’re here early?” Gary half-stated and half-asked.

“It’s one in the afternoon, babe,” Avocato replied.

“Shit, it’s that late?”

“Hey, Gary,” Quinn smiled. “We brought a couple of people who wanted to see you again.”

“People? Why would anyone want to see me? Hopefully it’s not Derek, I hate that guy. Please tell me you don’t know Derek,” he chuckled nervously.

“Gary,” the monotonous voice of HUE spoke, the map briefly flashing to indicate the AI’s presence, “it has been a while. It is good to see you haven’t changed.”

Gary’s eyes lit up. “HUE? Oh my God, is that you?! It’s so weird to hear your voice again. I want to scream at you in anger, but I also wish I could hug you right now, but you’re kind of an AI so I can't?”

“I am flattered. Perhaps someday I will be downloaded into a corporal form.”

“So you can hug me?”

“Debatable.”

“Wait, hold on, hold on,” Gary raised his hands in a stopping motion. “You said two people, right? So like, if you count HUE as a person, then the second person- no- no it can’t be-”

“Hey, Gary!” KVN floated from the hall, crushing Gary from behind in a bear-hug. “It’s so great to see my best friend again! I’ve missed you so much!”

“No!” Gary screamed, and if Avocato did not have a clear vision of him, he would have assumed that he was being tortured mercilessly. “This isn’t a person, or an AI, it’s a demon! You just let a demon into our household!” He struggled under KVN’s hold before he managed to shove him away with a foot.

Quinn laughed at the situation, Tribore looked as though she did not care of Gary’s tortured soul. Avocato wondered if he should get up and protect him from this supposed friend Quinn brought over.

“KVN really misses you,” HUE stated. “Really, he will not shut up about you.”

“Well, I don’t miss him, I hate him!” He shoved KVN away as the robot tried to hug him again. “Quinn, how could you do this to me?! I thought we were bros! We clasped!”

She giggled and shrugged. “I couldn’t just bring HUE, it would be unfair for KVN.”

“Oh, so they’re like a two for one deal now?!” He dived away from another hug and rounded the table, grabbing onto Avocato’s chair as he stood behind him, using him as a shield to protect him from the menace across the room.

“Oh, come on, Gary, don’t you remember all of the great memories we had together in space?” KVN reasoned.

“Those were not good memories, they were bad memories, very, very bad memories! I was alone for five years!”

Avocato thought of what it was like to be alone for five years. He thought of his time separated from his son, and how lonely he had become as a result of it in their short time apart. It felt endless. He could hardly imagine what Gary had gone through.

But in reality, how long had Gary really been alone?

He always seemed so happy, Avocato assumed that he could take on the world if he wanted, but lately-

Knowing him for nearly a year, and being in a relationship with him may be to blame, but lately he had noticed the small things, the subtle changes in Gary’s expression when he thought of something that would trouble him. His smile would be a little more strained when he fought off anxiety, or he would talk normally, but his fingers would tap rhythmically on the table when it was a subject he was worried about mentioning.

“Oh, Gary, you’re so silly, you weren’t alone, you had me and HUE.” KVN floated around the table, but before he could reach Gary, Mooncake jumped in and started chirping angrily at him. “Okay, okay, fine!” KVN raised his arms and backed off.

Gary groaned loudly. “Anyways, I’ve missed you, HUE. KVN, go back to hell, and guys,” he gestured to the table, “what’re you planning today?”

“There’s a distant small planet that the Lord Commander has taken siege of. We want that planet’s freedom back, and by all means, we’re going to get it back from that tiny man’s fist.” Tribore zoomed in closer on the map, showing the planet along with the details of the surface and life on it.

KVN let out a small “ooh” and stared at the map curiously, otherwise remaining surprisingly quiet.

“Almost all means.” Quinn looked to Avocato accusingly. “We don’t make sacrifices if they are unnecessary.”

“It was common to sacrifice many of my men under the Lord Commander if it ensured victory.” He gestured to the hologram. “This is a strategy that would mean a win for the resistance,” he argued, “it’s how war works. You wanted my help, this is a strategy I would have made under his rule.”

“Then think of another plan.”

“You make it sound easy,” he scoffed.

Gary furrowed his brows, eyes fixated on the hologram. “I think I kind of agree with Quinn on this, man. Besides, you’re not under anyone’s rule anymore. You can make decisions for yourself, you can make the right ones.”

He craned his neck to look up at Gary behind him, receiving an assuring smile in response. Avocato sighed and lowered his ears in defeat. “I guess that sounds shitty of me, huh?”

Gary nodded, and Quinn hummed in agreement.

“Less numbers on our side don’t sound good either,” Tribore also agreed, “that sounds really bad, actually.”

“What was the plan supposed to be?” Gary asked.

“Avocato suggested a distraction on the front line while we attack them from behind.” Quinn was the one to fill him in. “Lord Commander's fleet is large, he would wipe out everyone on the front line. We would lose them all.”

“Don’t you have help from the Infinity Guard, there’s lots of you guys?” He asked.

Tribore and Quinn shared a grim look. “We think there’s someone in the Infinity Guard working for him,” she said.

“So we can’t trust any of them, no one but the ones in this very room. Maybe, kitty over here is still debatable.” Tribore sent a suspicious look his way.

“Ventrexien,” he hissed.

Gary bore a thoughtful expression before snapping his fingers. “Well, then, why not just send in decoys. Not people decoys, you know, but decoy-decoys? Empty ships with cargo or whatever. Pretend like it's a front line attack, and then, bam! Right from behind, everyone kicks ass, victory won, planet-wide party.” He threw a fist in the air.

Avocato’s ears perked up, eyes going wide as he stared at the hologram before him. “That could actually work. We could have more firepower from behind that way.”

Tribore went through a few commands to run a simulation that showed a promising success rate. “That really is a smart plan, I’m surprised no one thought of that plan, why did we not think of that. I mean, I’m sure I could have thought of something just as amazing, but this works too.” 

“Well done, Gary.” HUE made his presence known again. “Perhaps you may someday be worthy of the “captain” title.”

“Isn’t Gary so smart and cool!” KVN clapped his claw-like hands together.

“Wait,” Gary chuckled, and Avocato could tell by the subtle change of tone that he was genuinely surprised they took him seriously, like he was expecting his suggestion to be brushed off. “Really?”

Quinn smiled, genuine and proud. “Hey, you know, if you hadn’t been such an idiot six years ago, I really think you would've made a fine pilot for the Infinity Guard. I bet your father would be proud of how smart you really are.”

And there was that strained smile Avocato started to pick up on.

He stood up from his seat abruptly. “Well, now that we’ve found an effective plan, I think our session is over. Come to Gary and I next week if there’s another problem.”

“Will do, fellow resistance partner.” Tribore said with a halfhearted salute. They stood from their seats, taking down the hologram. They all bid them farewell, including HUE, while KVN tried to crush Gary in another hug.

For the rest of the day, Avocato remained by Gary’s side.

“Gary?” He approached him a couple weeks later, brows furrowed in concern at the distant look he had in his eyes while he watched the news. There was that troubled look again that Avocato wished he could understand.

He stood beside the couch, watching the television alongside Gary while he sat. The news reporter talked about a woman being executed publicly for her crimes, a criminal mastermind and deadly woman that had her payment of life long overdue.

She talked about the various crimes she had committed, all in varying degrees of severity, which only turned out to be the tip of the iceberg.

“I never got to know her, did you know that? Probably not,” Gary chuckled, talking over the reporter, “I never told you anything about her, and it’s not like I could, because I never  _ knew _ anything about her.”

_ Sheryl Goodspeed _ , the news reporter announced, Answering the silent question on Avocato’s mind.

Gary’s mother.

The woman he had never uttered a single word of since they met.

Gary tossed the remote onto the coffee table. “But I know enough about her that she’s going to escape that prison and continue being the universe’s worst mother. She’s probably just there to steal something and move on with her life, she’s good at that.”

Avocato opened his mouth to speak, but like a dam being broken, Gary ranted on.

“Who does that to their kid, right?” He laughed again, this time with a bitterness that twisted Avocato’s heart in ways that made him hurt. “I mean you- you were like the equivalent of an evil overlord, but you still loved your child. Maybe you didn’t deserve the award for best father back then, but at least you were actually, physically there. I could only dream of that. You cared enough to stay, even with no mama cato around. You didn’t bounce because “ooh, this is all the kid’s fault,” he mocked.

Gary looked up at him and frowned. Like the flicker of a light, he thought he saw a flash of moisture in Gary’s eyes, but it was gone the moment he recognized it.

“I’m sorry,” he swallowed a lump in his throat, “I really- really shouldn’t have said all that stuff,” he tried to back track.

“Gary-“ he reached out.

“Don’t,” he recoiled away, which made everything feel so much worse, feeling as though he was completely useless. His ears tilted back, wanting to protest, but his words got stuck in his throat. “I need you to do me a solid, man. I just. I want to be alone for awhile.” He stood from the couch. “You can have the living room, I’ll be in our bedroom.”

Gary reached the hallway, and Avocato finally found the words to speak. “Gary, wait.” He stopped at the request, patiently awaiting an answer from him. “I’ll leave you alone, but I want to remind you that relationships are a two-way street. We’re just hitchhikers on the road of life, you know. If you ever need anything, or want to talk, I’m here for you. Always. Because I’m not just your boyfriend, we’re best friends too.”

Gary turned to him, and there was that strained smile that did not quite meet his eyes again. He could see right through him, but Gary thought he had him fooled. “I’ll be fine, Brovacato, really, I just wanna be alone for a bit.”

“I love you,” he finally said in a last ditch effort, swallowing harshly, waiting for something, anything to be said. He watched his still form, waiting for any movement or acknowledgement.

“I love you too,” Gary turned and he disappeared into their room.

Avocato looked back to the television, a picture of Sheryl on the screen. He glared at it, as though he were expecting her to react.

He slept on the couch that night.

The next day gave him a new sense of determination, which led to a new goal: make Gary happy. Take his mind off of his mother, if just for a little bit.

Avocato had announced a family day outside even though it was cold as hell.

He made Little Cato dress in multiple layers of clothing even though his fur provided warmth against the cold winter outside.

Gary had a couple of layers on as well, his skin much more susceptible to the cold than their fur. He wrapped a ridiculously large scarf around Mooncake and put a small toque on them to keep them warm. 

Avocato drove them all to the park, stopped, and told them that he would meet up with them after grabbing warm drinks for everyone from across the street.

He watched from a distance as Gary and Little Cato skated around on the make-shift ice rink in the park, laughing and chatting away. Little Cato spun in a circle with him, and then he lifted a tail, swerving around him and showing off his skills of balance. Mooncake had been watching them as well, floating around and talking with them in their own strange way of communication.

He held a tray of drinks in his hand, coffee for himself and two large cups of hot chocolate for Gary and his son. The heat rose from the drink, curling upwards in small puffs of steam in tangent with his soft breathing.

He smiled as he watched them together, and decided to observe them from a distance.

Mooncake noticed his appearance and floated to his side. He reached into his pocket then, and pulled out the cookie he ordered for them, holding it out as they happily ate it in two bites, luckily without taking a finger.

Their hot drinks were starting to cool by the time Little Cato caught sight of him and came over with Gary, skates clunking against the ice along the snowy path by the rink, snatching a drink from the tray with a, “thanks, dad!”

They sat down at a table covered in snow and enjoyed the warmth that the drinks brought them. After they finished, Little Cato announced that he was going back to the rink, and Gary was going to join him again. 

“I’m going to stay here and watch with Mooncake,” Avocato said with a small smile at Gary’s offer to join them.

“You know, pops, I think he’s scared,” Little Cato announced. 

“Your father- what? No way! That guy’s not scared of anything. Right?” Gary eyed Avocato, baiting his fragile ego, a slight teasing smirk on his stupid, beautiful lips.

He fell for it, hook, line, and sinker, despite knowing the trap. “I’m not scared of anything.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I remembered your skates that you almost forgot at home.” Gary reached into their bag on the ground nearby, pulling out a pair of skates his size.

“Thanks, babe,” he narrowed his gaze with a challenge, “what would I ever do without you?”

He grinned with a feigned innocence. “Die, probably.”

Five minutes passed as he tied on the skates, and Little Cato claimed that he was totally procrastinating because he was terrified of the ice, which made Avocato grumble in protest.

They stepped out onto the ice together, and upon one step only, Avocato slid and landed on his ass. Out of everything Avocato had experienced, he had never skated before.

After many unsuccessful tries of skating and curses of frustration later, Gary and Little Cato decided to offer him help, giving him pointers on what to do.

“Come on, buddy, you’ve got this,” Gary assured him, holding out his hands much like he would with a child learning to skate for the first time, Mooncake smiling reassuringly over his shoulder.

Avocato’s ears stuck to the back of his head, the chill of the air replaced by the fiery heat of embarrassment he felt. “I’m not a child, and stop patronizing me.” His legs trembled under him, tail sticking between his legs, completely useless even though it was supposed to help with balance.

He took a step forward and slid a little, making little progress in his movement. He took another step closer to Gary and his legs gave out, shouting in surprise and falling towards him. Gary caught him in his arms and held on tightly. He pulled him up, helping him onto his feet again as he regained balance, but he never pulled away, one arm held securely around his waist, and the other against his lower back.

Little Cato laughed at him, skating around them with a confident smirk as he watched his father suffer, spinning around for emphasis on how much better he was. Avocato would have complimented him, if he had not been doing it to be a little shit. He sent a meaningless glare his way, unable to be genuinely mad at him.

He looked up at Gary after, pressing a hand to his chest as he looked away again. “Wow, I suck at this,” he admitted, albeit reluctantly.

“Chin up, bro. Why don’t we try something else?”

Gary began to skate with him, side by side, one arm still around his waist, slowly showing him each movement he made with his feet.

He was starting to get the hang of it.

Avocato leaned towards Gary to press a chaste kiss to his cheek, but before he could, Little Cato bumped into them, squeezing himself between the two and holding their hands in his own.

He looked down to Little Cato, his son’s eyes looking back, drifting between the two with an expression that made his heart skip a beat. He looked genuinely happy, as though he was living out a fantasy he had been dreaming of for years. The grin that split his lips rivaled Gary’s blinding one, lighting up his life. Little Cato’s fingers curled a little tighter around their hands, pulling them forwards, faster, until they were suddenly racing across the rink against each other, laughing and throwing teasing insults at each other, Mooncake zipping past them excitedly.

Avocato had been the first to crash, falling and sliding on the ground for several feet before finally stopping.

He watched Gary and Little Cato, skating in a neck-in-neck battle for the win. His son managed to gain the lead, sliding to a halt, jumping in the air, and cheering as he won. Gary was unable to stop himself in time, sliding past Little Cato before he could blink, crying out with a loud shout, tripping and landing face-first into a giant pile of white by the ice, his body disappearing entirely beneath the snow.

It took a couple tries for Avocato to get on his feet and slowly, but steadily, make his way over to the scene of the tragic accident. He stopped, watching Little Cato wince in sympathy as he wiped away the snow caked on Gary’s face, apologizing repeatedly. Mooncake looked similarly apologetic, landing on his head as though it would warm him.

“Oh crap, the snow’s cold.” Gary shivered, sniffling.

“Hey, man, are you okay?” He asked worriedly.

“Yeah, never been better.” He nodded with another violent shiver. “Who knew snow in your pants would make the world seem so cold and unloving.”

Avocato stepped out of the rink and helped Gary onto his feet. He removed his own jacket and draped it around his shoulders. “Here, I think you need it more than I do right now.” At his concerned look, he chuckled. “I’ve got fur, I’m fine. Maybe we should go home now,” he suggested.

At Gary’s nod of confirmation, they grabbed everything they brought and headed for the vehicle, driving home with the heat blasting as high as possible.

Later that night, Avocato curled up in bed next to Gary, handing him another cup of hot chocolate and holding onto his own. He leaned against him, tail draping over his waist affectionately while he pulled the blankets closer around them.

Gary had been watching something intently on the holovid, but he paused it and put it away after taking the drink.

They sat in a comfortable silence, Gary snuggling closer to him, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Avocato wrapped an arm around him and took a sip of his drink, blowing on it after his tongue got a touch of the heat.

“Hey, thank you,” Gary said suddenly, holding onto him a little tighter. Avocato looked down at him, hand raising to card through his blond locks.

“What for?”

“For- well- uh- literally everything I guess. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“You don’t have to thank me?” He said, unintentionally ending it as a question, uncertain of what “everything” Gary wanted to thank him for.

“You went out of your way for me today, didn’t you? You called in sick, because of everything I said last night. Which, my bad for dragging you into it.”

People who thought Gary was a fool were the fools themselves, he was surprisingly perceptive when he wanted to be.

“I was on that prison ship for five years, alone, with nobody, but being on that ship made me realize I had no one to begin with. I’ve always been alone. My mother left me when I was just a baby, and my father passed away when I was still a kid. I just had that caterpillar, Mooncake,” he drew a shaky breath, “which I lost too. Everyone just reminds me of how much of a hero my father was, and I know he did the right thing, but I miss him. People that hear “Goodspeed,” just expect me to be some kind of copy of my father or mother, but I’m not. I’m nothing like them.”

Avocato reached out and gently rubbed his back as he regained his composure, still trying desperately to smile, but Gary never looked at him, always drawing his eyes away from his form. Finally, he talked about how he really felt. “I’ve felt so alone throughout my entire life. I barely knew what it was like to have a family. Not until I met Mooncake, Quinn,” his smile became a little more genuine, “Tribore, Fox, and Ash. Clarence is even like one of those really annoying uncles I’ve heard of. Hell, maybe even HUE.”

He knew that he still wanted to talk as he felt the rhythmic touch of Gary’s fingers against his thigh.

“But when I met you and Little Cato, I realized, this is what it is, this is what it’s like to really, actually have a family that loves you.” His voice nearly broke, but he kept going, this time letting the words spill out instead of pulling away. “Skating, cooking, being together, literally everything we do. I’ve never had that before.” A stray tear slid down his cheek. “I’ve never had any of this, and I don’t want to lose it.”

Avocato placed his cup of hot chocolate down and gently cupped Gary’s face, wiping away the tear with a gentle caress of the thumb. “You’ll always be a part of our family, Gary, I promise.”

“I’m so happy,” the tears suddenly streamed down his cheeks, surprising him. “I love Little Cato like he’s my own boy. He’s such a good kid, and I’m so proud and honored to be a father of his. I used to call my dad pops, you know, so it just- it felt right for him to call me that too.” He discarded his own cup to hold Avocato in return. “And I love you- more than anything.”

Avocato’s phone vibrated on the nightstand.

Gary buried his face into his chest, holding onto him like a lifeline, touching him as though he was concerned everything over the year had all been a figment of his imagination. He sobbed into Avocato’s chest.

The realization came with every passing sob, that this had been on his mind for a long time, all of the conflicting emotions boiling over like an unattended pot of hot water, finally letting it all drain.

“I hate my mother for leaving me. I wish she wasn’t my mother,” he wheezed out between sobs.

“Your family isn’t just by blood, your family is who you chose it to be,” Avocato said softly, rubbing more circles on his back. “She doesn’t have to be your mother if you don’t see her as one.”

“You’re right,” Gary sniffed, trembling lips turning to a smile, “you and Little Cato, you’re my family now, and that’s enough. I wouldn’t ask for anything else.” He moved to slide his hand into his.

“Hey,” Little Cato was at the door with Mooncake in his arms, “I hope I’m not interrupting.” He rolled back and forth on his feet.

Gary quickly wiped away the moisture from his eyes in a vain attempt to hide his crying, replacing his wary smile with a grin. “Nah, not at all, Spidercat.” His eyes were red, and still moist as he made the occasional sniff.

“So, I know I’m a teenager and all, and this may sound kind of weird, but I was wondering if I could stay in here with you guys for a bit? I’m- feeling kind of lonely.” His foot dug at the ground, uncertain if they would accept him.

“Of course, son,” Gary said, holding a hand out and gesturing for him to join them on the bed.

Little Cato crawled onto the bed and sat down on the other side of Gary. He pulled the blankets over him while Mooncake dove down, resting themself beside Gary’s thigh and snuggling up to him. Little Cato leaned against him and hugged him before suggesting, “why don’t we watch a movie on the holovid?”

Gary sniffled one last time with a smile and pulled out the holovid again. Little Cato insisted that he pick out the movie for once, and Gary chose some kind of b-grade comedy.

Avocato reached for his phone on the nightstand. He checked the text, it was from Little Cato.  _ I heard everything, _ it said. Of course he did.

He smiled down at his boy, curled up next to Gary with Mooncake, clinging to him as though he were a giant teddy bear. His presence appeared to lighten Gary’s mood, watching as he rested a hand on top of Little Cato’s head, smiling softly, nearly petting him much like a human would with a cat.

They were a family picked up from the broken pieces of a past filled with loneliness and tragedy. They found each other in spite of the universe, and came together as one. They were not perfect, but they loved each other, and they were happy now.

His mind echoed Gary’s words from earlier,  _ and that’s enough. _

They fell asleep on the bed as a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the final chapter! Thank you so much to all of you who stuck around until the end, and thank you to every single kudos and comment given, they mean so so much! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Some other notes:  
> -So when I first thought of the fic, I thought about having the Lord Commander come in at some point to make an actual appearance, but then I thought that the plot would get pretty dark fairly quickly, and I wanted this to remain on the more lighthearted side  
> -I kind of learned more about writing after finishing this, and I feel there's places where I could have made the plot and story beats better, but overall, I had fun writing it, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it!  
> -Have a wonderful day and life ahead! Stay safe guys!


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